Trying To Live A Dream


by George Banker, Journal Newspapers
[Additional text by Jay J. Wind]


    Strong wills and Olympic dreams were high across the country last Sunday, the last day for athletes to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
    Indiana Invaders Lorilynn Hoffman (Bloomington) and Judy Porter (Greenfield), Jackie Concaugh (Fairfax County Firefighter), and Hilary Cairns (Team Pacers) all broke the morning silence last Sunday at T.C. Williams.  The runners in the 5000 meters had a time of 16 minutes 5 seconds to beat (12.5 laps).  It was going to take all of the right conditions.
    But none of the runners made the desirable time, with Hoffman posting the best time (17:32.22) of the four.
    Cathy Stanmeyer of Arlington was the "rabbit,'' designated to take the runners out on a record setting pace and then drop out.  Each lap had to be ran in 77 seconds.
    Two laps into the race, Stanmeyer and Concaugh had a 10-meter lead over Hoffman and Porter, and Cairns was 20 seconds off the leaders.
    [Four laps into the race, at the one-mile mark Concaugh led with a 5:06 and Hoffman was still on a qualifying pace with a 5:10.]
    With eight laps remaining, Concaugh had the lead, Hoffman was closing in, on the back stretch a brisk surge and the lead changed.  Concaugh slowly started to fall off pace as Porter took advantage and began to reel Concaugh in.
    With six laps remaining, Hoffman was in the lead (8:42) followed by Porter (8:50), Concaugh (8:54) and Cairns (9:19).  Midway through the race, it was still a race against the clock but the seconds were slipping away.
    With four laps remaining, Concaugh stepped off the track and accepted defeat.  Hoffman, Porter, and Cairns continued to chase a dream, and the crowds continued to cheer the runners as the air temperature was on the rise under a sunny sky.
    Into the last lap with 16:00 on the clock, the dream vanished, Hoffman had the lead, and Porter (16:08) and Cairns (16:38) trailed.  Hoffman was first (17:32.22) followed by Porter (17:35.26) and Cairns (17:55.54).
    "The heat did affect [us], as much as we try to be tough, we try not to make excuses and we keep on pushing,'' Hoffman said. "I wanted to key off Jackie and I knew where I had to be.  There was nothing I could do when my time slipped.  I was happy with the first mile and I did what I wanted to do.  One thing about not running what you want at the end of the season, it makes you hungry.'' 


    [In the women's 800, Bridget Johnson hoped to qualify for the Trials with a 2:05, but finished in 2:08.6.  Lorilynn Hoffman ran a personal best 2:16.34 for second.
    [In the men's 100m, LeShaunte Edwards ran 10.63, just 0.40 seconds shy of the 10.23 he needed to qualify.
    [In the men's 200m, Cordell Smith needed 20.52 but finished in 21.90.
    [In the men's 800m, Jason Rhodes and Miklos Arpasi provided the fireworks in 1:50.61 and 1:50.71, but missed the target of 1:47.60.
    [The elite men's mile turned into one of the fastest races of the 2000 season worldwide, with Scott Anderson setting a new meet and track record of 4:00.37, followed by Raymond Weeden (4:00.87), Sam Gabremariam (4:01.04), John Honerkamp (4:01.54).  Their target was 3:58.14
    [In the women's pole vault, Erin Nett of WVA cleared 12'9", just two inches short of the 13'1" qualifying standard.]
    [All qualifying times are from the official Olympic Trials website]

    In the men's open mile, Walter Johnson High School's Florent Groberg pushed off the line and took an early lead with a first-lap time of 65 seconds. Bruce Hamilton was five seconds back. Groberg went through the half mile in 2:17, with Hamilton close behind at 2:21.On the back stretch with one hundred meters remaining,  Washington's Blair Desio began to surge into the turn and powered by Hamilton. Groberg came out of the final turn wide open as Desio came within two meters, but Groberg took first with 4:41.2. Desio finished in 4:41.4, and Hamilton was third with 4:50.9
    "In the last 100 meters I heard someone coming up, I had enough left to hold him off,'' Groberg said. "My plan was to take it out hard and lead.
    In the men's 400 Meters, Ray Blackwell of Newark, Del., a cardiac surgeon, didn't give anyone a chance. He took first with 50.9, and Bob Bowman was third with 54.5.
    Last March, Blackwell set an American and World record at 400 meters for a master (age 40 and over) with a time of 49.9 (indoor).
    In the men's Open 800 Meter, Jimmy Blackmon, a captain in the Army and a member of the All Army Team, trailed through the first four hundred meters (1:05).  Into the last lap on the back stretch, Blackmon surged to take the lead and the win with 2:08.  Blackmon was the winner of the 3000 meter race with 9:22.1

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