Olympic Trials 1500m: A race for the ages
On a hot, muggy Saturday evening in Windsor, Ont., 12 of the finest 1500m runners Canada has ever produced, lined up for a race that they will likely be telling their grandchildren about. The men’s 1500m final at the Olympic Trials in July featured a see-saw battle among some of the country’s top middle-distance stars, Nathan Brannen, Kurt Benninger, Taylor Milne, and the veteran Kevin Sullivan.
Entering the race, only Milne of Guelph, Ont., and Sullivan of Brantford, Ont., had achieved the Olympic ‘A’ standard of 3:36.60. But four others in the race had run under 3:40 this season, and all believed they had a chance to hit the standard and earn a trip to compete in Beijing. The sheer quality of the field raised the blood pressure of all those involved.
“I was more nervous than I’ve ever been,” Milne, 26, says.
“I knew it was going to be one of the best, if not the best 1500 finals in the history of the Canadian championships,” says Sullivan, 34, now a three-time Olympian.
In the past, Canadian championship 1500m finals have usually been tactical affairs. Runners concerned more about place than time have generally trotted along at a pedestrian pace for 3 laps, before breaking out into a mad dash to the finish over the final 300m.
From the gun, you knew this race was going to be different. Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., took the early lead, passing 400m in 58 seconds, determined to run the Olympic ‘A’ standard. Benninger and Milne followed closely, with Sullivan tucked in along the rail in 4th place. The split was 1:55 at 800m, and a record-breaking finish was taking shape. The race was moving so swiftly, Sullivan felt like he was racing at a Golden League meet.
“It definitely felt like a European race. It felt like one of those races where you get a rabbit that goes out scorching and you just get in line and you go,” Sullivan says.
At the bell, Milne began sprinting to make his move. It became even more furious with 200m to go, when Brannen started to kick, challenging for the lead. Milne held him off, winning in 3:38.03, breaking John Craig’s 29-year-old record. Brannen held on for second in 3:38.52, just missing the Olympic ‘A’ Standard. Sullivan, an eight-time national champion, finished in 3rd place in 3:39.42.
For Milne, making the Olympic team, and beating his idol in the process, made the win something he’ll always remember.
“[Sullivan] is the best our country has ever seen in this event,” Milne says. “I think if you asked the 11 [other] guys in this field who their hero was, I think all 11 would say Kevin Sullivan.”
Sullivan felt no shame in finishing third in such a strong race.
“I think [the fast pace] gets more fans interested. I think the great thing is it’s going to get some of our juniors and guys in their early twenties really excited that they too could make a future Olympic team.”
–Mihira Lakshman
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