TRACK & FIELD: Hausers making another run at Olympic berths

by Keith Peters

BBrad Hauser didn't like the way he finished the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials last week in Sacramento. The recent Stanford graduate, who challenged for the lead throughout until the final few laps, wound up finishing fifth and missing a berth on the U.S. Olympic team for this fall's Sydney Games in Australia.

"I think I was prepared for it," Hauser said. "I did everything right. It was just one of those days. You can't have your best day every day."

Hauser, however, hopes to have his best ready for tonight when he competes for that elusive Olympic berth in the finals of the men's 5,000 in Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University.

Hauser will be joined by his twin brother, Brent, along with Stanford teammate Jonathan Riley. Brad and Brent finished one-two in the first heat during Monday's semifinals, running 13:43.33 and 13:43.86. Riley finished 11th in the second heat after running 10 laps with only one shoe, which he lost after being tripped early on. Riley appealed and it was upheld by the event jury, who agreed that he'd been wrongly clipped and granted him a berth for tonight's finals.

Brad Hauser, meanwhile, goes into the finals tonight ranked No. 7 among Americans this year with a best of 13:29.71. Two runners ahead of him--U.S. leader Matt Giusto and No. 5-ranked Ray Appenheimer--failed to qualify for the finals.

Of those who did qualify, three have surpassed the Olympic "A" qualifying standard of 13:29.0, a time Hauser still needs to run should he finish among the top three tonight.

"It's a good field, great competition," Hauser said. "Hopefully, it goes better than the 10K."

Hauser was in line for an Olympic berth until four laps remained in the 10,000 finale. Then, he said, "I kind of his the wall. I lost contact with the top three, and then broke down physically."

With two laps remaining, Hauser's fate was obvious.

"With two laps to go, I pretty much had nothing," he said. "I knew it was over."

That wasn't the case in Monday's 5K trials, where Brad and Brent looked strong throughout their heat and took control of the race in the late going after hanging with the leaders.

"The finals are a whole different story," Brad said. "I think it's going to be a very fast race. (Bob) Kennedy is not going to mess around with it. He's going to take it out from the gun. He'll do what he normally does--he'll run fast."

Hauser, however, said that before Monday's semifinals when Kennedy, the U.S. recordholder in the event, struggled in the Hausers' heat and finished seventh. Kennedy still is feeling the affects of an automobile accident in May that injured his back and hampered his training.

"I just don't have the leg speed yet," Kennedy admitted after the semifinals.

While Kennedy believes he's still in the running for an Olympic berth, so does Brad Hauser.

"Yeah, definitely," Hauser said. "I think everyone in the field is looking at top-three. There's probably 10 real contenders for it. I consider myself one of those 10 and I hope it goes well."

Stanford grad Regina Jacobs is hoping for the same, as well. She'll be among the favorites in tonight's women's 5,000 finals--even though she's only planning on running the 1,500 at Sydney. Jacobs won that race last Sunday to make her fourth Olympic team.

As late as Sunday night, Jacobs was undecided on whether she would double back in the 5,000, where she is the American recordholder, or the 800. But she chose to try the same historic double she achieved at last year's U.S. Nationals.

"First of all, I'm going to run the 1,500 in Sydney, and the 5,000 will help my 1,500 more than an 800 would," Jacobs said. "Secondly, it's another historic double--nobody's ever won these two at the Trials before."

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