Olympic Marathon Trials Press Conference Athlete Quotes
Posted Wednesday, 31 October, 2007
Tuesday press conference, October 30, 2007
2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi and former world record holder in the marathon Khalid Khannouchi
Khannouchi:
"It has been my dream to represent the U.S. in the next Olympics. I will try my best. It is very important to me and my family to be here. I'm OK and everything is falling into place. I've done some tempo runs, and I'm ready for Saturday."
Regarding his disappointing half-marathon (1:05:04, 13th) in San Jose on October 14:
"To be honest, I sucked. I've been rehabbing and have new orthotics, but I'm not thinking about my foot. I've had injuries before and dealt with them and for Saturday's race, I have to do the best for right now - which is not new to me."
Keflezighi:
"It is good to be here. It has been a long wait. I debuted in New York City [2002] and earned my PhD in that race. I've run well here and hope the same on Saturday."
"To make the Olympic team is huge. It will be more difficult this time with the depth of the field. I see 6-7 legitimate contenders if they bring their "A" game."
"I'm still motivated to reach my goals. I want to win my first marathon [the Trials will be his 10th] and of course, I want to make another Olympic team and defend my Olympic silver medal."
On his right calf situation:
"The calf is OK. I took three days off, had some rehab and everything now is back to normal. I should be fine."
On the San Diego wildfires:
Due to the wildfires in San Diego last week, Meb went to San Jose for his pre-race sea level training before leaving for New York City. His house was untouched by the wildfires.
There was also a Keflezighi-Khannouchi teleconference on Tuesday and its excerpts are at: www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2007_10_30_13_36_07
Wednesday press conference, October 31, 2007
Jason Hartmann, Ryan Shay and Clint Verran - Olympic hopefuls
Hartmann:
"I feel pretty confident. I moved to Eugene for sea level training and have been able to train more at marathon pace than at altitude. My last two marathons [Chicago 2006 and London 2007] didn't go as planned, but I hope on Saturday that I'll have a good day. The training is done, the talking is over."
His comments on his high school teammate and current training partner, Dathan Ritzenhein:
"I was an integral part of Dathan's early development and now he inspires me. Dathan's a big reason why I'm still at it."
"If one of us does well here or makes the team, I feel that we both win."
Shay:
"I've had my ups and downs, but I've done the training I need. Some of the missed time [due to injury] may be a blessing in disguise. My taper has gone well and I'm hopeful that it will show on Saturday. It will be difficult to make the Olympic team, but this is why we race."
"For the race, the top 10 is my general goal and as the race develops, I hope to move up and be in position for a high finish."
Verran:
Regarding possible team tactics with his fellow Hansons-Brooks qualifiers: "If I told you that we were doing team tactics, they wouldn't be team tactics."
"The marathon is about managing time. I've beaten some of best marathoners in the world including 2004 Olympic gold medalist Stefano Baldini at the World Championships in Helsinki. So anything can happen in the marathon."
Find more Olympic Marathon Trials information including updated lists of qualifiers and entrants at: www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Men
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