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 United States' Shalane Flanagan celebrates with the U.S. flag after winning the bronze medal in the women's 10,000-meter final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Friday. Photo / Associated PressMarblehead's Flanagan thrilled with third place finish
BEIJING - Shalane Flanagan's participation in Friday's women's 10K event in the Olympics was touch and go ... right up until there were less than four kilometers left in the race.
That's when the bell went off ... and off the Marblehead native went toward capturing an improbable bronze medal in a history-making race in Beijing.
Click here to see a photo gallery as Marblehead's Shalane Flanaga wins a bronze medal.
After being shut out four years ago in Athens, Flanagan ran a 30:22.22 - an American record - in Friday's event.
Flanagan had a severe gastrointestinal episode earlier this week, and was still feeling the effects of it
Still, she gave it a shot. But she was back in the pack at the 6K mark before making her move.
Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands led practically from the gun, with a lead group of 18 runners - including Flanagan and Kara Goucher of Portland, Ore., in tow. Kiplagat covered the first two kilometers in six minutes, with a 3:04 in the third and 3:03 in the fourth.
During all this time, Flanagan sat back in eighth place with Goucher 11th.
After the 6K mark, covered by Kiplagat in 19:13.5 in all, she, Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia began trading the lead. Linet Chepkwemoi Masai of Kenya moved up to third as Kiplagat began to drop back, with Lucy Kabuu Wangui of Kenya fourth to round out the lead pack.
Flanagan moved up to fifth as 7K was covered by the leaders in 21:14.46 and 8K in 24:09.40. The pace dropped rapidly, leaving Abeylegesse and Dibaba to compete for gold as they hit the 9K mark in 27:06:02.
With three laps to go, Flanagan moved up to fourth and was gaining on Masai, who approximately half a second ahead of the American record holder. Flanagan passed with 800 meters go to and looked all but assured of bronze.
As she crossed the finish line, she held up three fingers with a quizzical look to see if it was real. It was, and she became the first American to win a medal in the event since Lynn Jennings in 1992.
"Oh, my God," she said, "Am I three? Am I third?"
"I was in such a zone," Flanagan said afterward. "My coach said to fall asleep for a couple laps and then give it a go. I ran my hardest and tried to give it my best. I was just running so within myself trying to stay calm."
Ahead of Flanagan, history was being made. In a furious final 400 meters, Dibaba was first to the finish in 29:54.66, setting an Olympic record and becoming only the second woman to dip under 30:00 for the 10,000. Abeylegesse was second in an arena record 29:56.32.
Masai was fourth in a world junior and Kenyan national record of 30:26.50. Goucher ended 10th in a personal-best 30:55.16, with Yoder-Begley 26th in 32:38.28.
The 10K isn't even her best event. That's the 5K, in which she will run next week. Unlike the 10K, where she didn't have to run a heat to qualify for the final, Flanagan will have to run in a preliminary, which will take place at 7:35 a.m. EDT Tuesday. The final will be run next Friday at 8:40 a.m. EDT.
Even though she doesn't consider the 10K her signature event, Flanagan had an auspicious debut in the event last May, smashing the American record by 17 seconds, running 30:34.49 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. She qualified for the event in Oregon in June with a 31:34.81. She went onto qualify for the 5K on July 4.
For a while earlier this week, Flanagan thought she might have had food poisoning.
"For 48 hours, it wasn't pretty," she said.
Flanagan finished behind Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, who set an Olympic record at 29 minutes, 54.66 seconds.
The medal ceremony will be held tonight.
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