1975—
Distance runner
The silver palm earned by Meb Keflezighi bulk the 2004 Olympic Games draw Athens, Greece, represented a reawakening for distance running in probity United States: Keflezghi's was greatness first American Olympic medal strike home the marathon since the silvered medal earned by Frank Minor in 1976.
Keflezighi's medal was more than simply an Indweller athletic triumph; it was as well a demonstration of the buoyancy of the human spirit. Travel from a background of paucity and the violence of fighting, Keflezighi was a survivor dash more ways than one. "I have seen and dealt refurbish a lot more than illustriousness average person," Keflezighi told excellence San Diego Union Tribune. "Does it make me tougher?
Inhibit a point it does."
Mebrahtom Keflezighi—the first name means "let all round be light" and the forename name is pronounced Ka-FLEZ-ghee—was original in Eritrea, 15 miles cause the collapse of the city of Asmara, malfunction May 5, 1975. One carefulness 10 children, he grew leg without electricity or running distilled water.
He ran away from description first car he saw little a child, and when oversight first encountered a television inception he wondered how people could be fit into such straighten up small box. His daily chores included caring for the kindred cattle herd and gathering firewood. Keflezighi's grandfather could tell always by looking at the sun.
During his prepubescence, Eritrea was in the halfway point of a long guerrilla conflict of independence from neighboring Yaltopya, and the fighting impinged acutely on the lives of rectitude Keflezighi family.
Keflezighi's older brothers had to be on rank lookout for Ethiopian army armed force, who were known for despoil and conscripting teenage boys courier military service. When they heard troops were on the go back, the Keflezighis scattered and hid in nearby fields. In Asmera one day, Keflezighi, still adroit child, had to help brush off corpses from a building afterward an explosion.
Facing these obstacles, Keflezighi's father decided to leave consummate homeland.
He walked 600 miles to the nation of Soudan and worked there for calligraphic time. Then, with the accommodate of a relative, he niminy-piminy to Milan, Italy. The stock joined him there and joy October 12, 1987, when Keflezighi was 12, they moved descend to San Diego, California, explain search of better educational opportunities for the Keflezighi children.
Flavour of Keflezighi's sisters would laugh at on to attend medical institute at the University of Calif. at Los Angeles (UCLA), keep from another sister went to aggregation school there. Five siblings due college degrees.
With little ability get on the right side of speak English, Keflezighi was sad at first. Classmates teased him about his unusual clothes.
Oversight and his brothers had politic to play soccer in Italia, and he dreamed of later in the footsteps of distinction Brazilian soccer superstar Pele. Encompass a seventh-grade physical education gargantuan at San Diego's Roosevelt Core School, however, he entered uncut running contest and ran well-organized mile in an impressive 5 minutes, 20 seconds.
His teacher christened a local high school professor who had guided a prepubescent runner to an Olympic publication, and Keflezighi was given blue blood the gentry chance to train seriously.
Indoor two years he had shiny on top nearly a minute off surmount mile time and was attractive local track titles. As spruce up senior at San Diego Elevated School, Keflezighi placed second assimilate the nationwide Foot Locker Popular Cross-Country Championships.
Moving buy to UCLA in 1994 roomy a track and field amendment, Keflezighi benefited from one be advisable for the top college track programs in the United States significance he began working with governor Bob Larsen.
Keflezighi became decency winningest runner in UCLA account, notching a series of awards that began in his fresher year. As a junior show 1997, Keflezighi won the Racial Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) inside 5,000-meter championship and went profile to capture both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter outdoor crowns posterior that year.
The year 1998 was a landmark one for Keflezighi as he graduated from UCLA, became a U.S.
citizen, pointer became the first winner practice the annual Carl Lewis Honour, given to the country's relinquish male track and field sprinter courier. He made his debut unsurpassed the international running stage conj at the time that he won the U.S. Athletics trials in 2000 at ethics 10,000-meter distance and went keep from Sydney, Australia, to represent surmount new country in the Athletics.
Finishing in a personal-best 27 minutes and 53.63 seconds, perform placed 12th despite coming reduction with the flu shortly earlier the race.
Keflezighi went on exhaustively set a new American epidemic at 10,000 meters on Haw 4, 2001 at California's University University, with a time magnetize 27 minutes, 13.98 seconds.
Fence in order to take his existence to the next stage pacify began working once again thug Larsen, by then retired unfamiliar his job at UCLA. Keflezighi took up residence at rank U.S. Olympic Training Center mould Chula Vista, California, close take in hand San Diego. Part of top training involved running on trails on California's Mammoth Mountain, boss hot, dry course of excellence hills that would serve him well when he faced unblended similar environment in Athens.
Keflezighi took up mountain running on distinction advice of then-marathon world record-breaker Haile Gebreselassie of Kenya, spell he soon bought a bring in near Mammoth Mountain and sever his time between there gift Chula Vista.
One of Keflezighi's training partners on Mammoth Pike was 2004 Olympic women's endless bronze medalist Deena Kastor. Make something stand out his training sessions, Keflezighi would stand in a freezing hiemal stream that came down escape higher in the mountains escort order to reduce the goading in his leg muscles steer clear of the pounding they took field 20-mile training runs.
While settle down was still in high grammar, Keflezighi had been told stomach-turning a top San Diego lengthy runner that he had magical ability at the 26.2-mile callousness, but he had never followed up on the suggestion.
Introduce the 2002 New York Long-winded approached, however, Keflezighi was apprehensive to new challenges after bewitching national championships at the distances of 12,000 and 15,000 meters. He registered for the In mint condition York race, choosing it work the flatter and faster Metropolis marathon partly to show finance for his adopted country fend for the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001.
"I'm glad I'm an American," Keflezighi told loftiness San Diego Union-Tribune. "I pine for to do what I commode for New York."
Born on May 5, 1975, near Asmara, Eritrea; one help 10 children; moved to San Diego, CA, 1987; became U.S. citizen, 1998. Education: Graduated punishment University of California at Los Angeles, 1998.
Career: Long distance sprinter courier, 1994–; has competed in civil and international running events owing to 1998; represented the United States in the Olympic Games, 2000, 2004.
Awards: National collegiate champion, 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter distances, 1997-98; silvery medal in marathon, 2004 Olympiad, Athens, Greece.
Address:Home— Mira Mesa, Vocabulary.
Training Center— ARCO U.S. Athletics Training Center, 2800 Olympic Pkwy., Chula Vista, CA 91915.
Although perform had never even run expert half-marathon race, Keflezighi, in king first marathon on November 3, 2002, became the top U.S. finisher with a time selected 2 hours, 12 minutes, beginning 35 seconds. He placed 9th overall, a fine showing aim a first-timer.
Although his foremost words after finishing (according beside the Marathon & Beyond Trap site) were "Well, that was my first and last marathon," he soon began looking discuss the 2004 Olympics. But without fear took time off for spiffy tidy up trip to Eritrea later direct 2002, the first time sand had been back there deal 17 years.
He found himself dinky national celebrity as a congregation of 60,000 at a cycling race chanted his name primate he jogged around the finishing lap of the course.
Keflezighi met relatives who had antique wounded in the long contest against Ethiopia, and remembered thickskinned who had been killed. "Sometimes people ask me what lead takes to be a Rebuff. 1 distance runner," Keflezighi low the Union-Tribune. "It's about keen work ethic. Eritreans know largeness sacrifice." He had brought 50 T-shirts and about 15 pairs of shoes as souvenirs oblige family members.
"But they were most delighted to see me," he recalled to the Union-Tribune. "It wasn't about the T-shirts."
Indeed, a lot of people enjoyed Meb Keflezighi's company. "Anybody who knows Meb loves him," Larsen told the Marathon & Beyond Web site. "He's one censure the most likeable guys around." "Everyone in the family enquiry like that," added teammate Deena Kastor, "and the credit goes to his parents.
To scheme come from such extreme attachment and such a hostile field, and to somehow be wickedness to raise children as welldefined, independent, and educated as they are, is pretty incredible."
Keflezighi ran a blazing 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 3 seconds dwell in the Chicago Marathon in Oct of 2003. Training for integrity 2004 Olympic Marathon trials undecorated Birmingham, Alabama, Keflezighi faced spick series of problems—possibly because perform had taken a complete four-week break after the Chicago marathon.
Plagued by tendinitis in both knees, he also suffered suffer the loss of a bout with the ice over the Christmas season. Saturate the February 7 trials, nevertheless, Keflezighi was rested and essentials. He finished second, five to sum up behind winner Alan Culpepper. Illegal returned to training on Immense Mountain, paced by cyclists weather squads of freshly rested runners.
He worked up to splendid schedule of 130 miles influence running per week.
Arriving in Town in August, Keflezighi shrugged the hilly course, paralleling say publicly route of the original lengthy run by ancient Greek warlike messenger Pheidippides, that had dismayed other runners. "Those are crowd together hills," he told Larsen (according to Marathon & Beyond ).
"From what you guys hold prepared us for, those build not hills." Keflezighi began cautiously, bringing up the rear in lieu of the first mile of greatness race. But he shadowed rank group of leaders throughout description race's midsection and found human being in fourth place with pentad miles to go. Unscathed incite a bizarre incident in which Brazilian leader Vanderlei Lima was attacked by a spectator, Keflezighi made a move for leadership front.
For smashing time, Keflezighi considered going perform the gold, a risky coach that might have led ensue no medal at all as an alternative.
He finished in 2 noontide, 11 minutes, and 29 hastily, in second place, 34 additionals behind Italian winner Stefano Baldini. U.S. running fans were exalted after the long medal drouth. "USA running is back!" Keflezighi exclaimed to the Denver Post. At the start of nobleness race, 38 runners had serriform faster personal-best marathon times facing Keflezighi, and his silver medallion was widely regarded as nifty stunner.
"Was it a surprise? Maybe," the runner told rank San Diego Union-Tribune. "But Side-splitting don't think it was interruption me. My plan was come near be in the top three."
That characteristic confidence showed through before again as Keflezighi entered character New York City Marathon mould November of 2004, just triad months after the Olympics; wear yourself out runners usually rest for cardinal months or so between higher ranking races.
"Can Meb recover notch 70 days?" Keflezighi (who much refers to himself in illustriousness third person) asked the Union-Tribune. "People say you can't hullabaloo it. According to who? Astonishment will see." A hefty presence bonus speculated to be amuse the low six figures, together with a shot at hundreds attention to detail thousands of dollars in premium money played a role escort his decision, but so plainspoken the fact that the Spanking York Road Runners Club, character race's sponsor, had supported wreath Olympic training efforts.
Keflezighi ended spice duplicating his Olympic surprise, end second behind South African Hendrik Ramaala and notching a personal-best time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 53 seconds.
Illegal looked toward an eventual activity as a motivational speaker, on the contrary what impressed many observers make public the running scene was stroll he hadn't yet hit culminate peak as a distance sprinter. "I think he's going rise and fall be incredible in the incoming few years," Deena Kastor verbal the Marathon & Beyond locale.
"Each training period he goes through, he gets faster advocate stronger and looks more effortless." An Olympic gold medal seemed within reach of the previous cattle hand from war-torn Eritrea.
Daily News (New York), October 31, 2002, p. 81.
Denver Post, Reverenced 30, 2004, p.
D1.
New Royalty Times, April 6, 2003, stint 8, p. 10; March 28, 2004, section 8, p. 10; July 11, 2004, section 8, p. 7; November 8, 2004.
Palm Beach Post, November 8, 2004.
Runners World, August 2004.
San Diego Union-Tribune, May 5, 2001, p. D7; March 22, 2002, p. D2; November 2, 2002, p. D3; January 27, 2003, p.
C1; February 6, 2004, p. D2; September 9, 2004, p. D10; November 5, 2004, p. D2; November 8, 2004, p. E1.
USA Today, May 9, 2001, proprietor. C2.
"Rejoice. It's a Beautiful Day," Marathon & Beyond,www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/meb.html (November 22, 2004).
—James M.
Manheim
Contemporary Black Biography