WATCH: Galen Rupp wins 8th straight U.S. 10K title with emphatic celebration
Galen Rupp won his eighth consecutive 10,000m title at the U.S. Olympic trials on Friday with an emphatic celebration (photo: @TaFPhoto).
Galen Rupp won his eighth consecutive national 10,000m title (27:55.04) on Friday at U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., less than five months after qualifying for Rio in the men’s marathon. He imitated a baseball player hitting a home run upon crossing the finish line in the 10,000m, which opens the door for him to double in the two events at the August Games.
TFW it's Saturday, a long weekend AND day ✌ of @usatf's Olympic trials!#RoadToRio #TrackTown16 pic.twitter.com/0iKX9VTkQX
— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) July 2, 2016
Two U.S. Army representatives, Shadrack Kipchirchir (28:01.52) and Leonard Korir (28:16.97), also qualified for the men’s 10,000m team by finishing second and third on Friday evening. The women’s 10,000m final takes place on Saturday evening following a relatively low-key day on Friday.
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Rupp and Kipchirchir were neck-and-neck with 400 metres to go before the 30-year-old put in a strong move on the final bend to pull away from his next closest competitor. He celebrated by hitting it out of the park, baseball-style though it almost could have doubled as a golf swing.
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His win comes one week after a defeat to Canadian Justyn Knight at a twilight meet in Oregon. Rupp is the reigning silver medallist in the men’s 10,000m at the Olympics and made his marathon debut in February. The Olympic men’s 10,000m and marathon, in that order, will be contested in an eight-day span beginning on Aug. 13.
RELATED: 19-year-old Canadian Justyn Knight takes down Olympic medallist Galen Rupp.
The U.S. championships will continue through to July 10.
The tape that Rupp was wearing on his legs and arms, in addition to being on his shorts and singlet, features Nike’s AeroSwift technology, which many athletes will be wearing at the Rio Olympics. It’s designed to reduce drag with the use of nodes.
27:55.04, Galen Rupp knocks another U.S. Title out of the park in the 10,000m. #TrackTown16 #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/VZEYOdGnJL
— A Runner's Eye (@ARunnersEye) July 2, 2016
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