Kara Goucher finished fifth in the 5,000 at today's Meeting International d'Athlétisme de la Province de Liège in Belgium in a lifetime best of 15:08.13. Goucher, who turned 29 on July 9th, continued her fabulous comeback by shaving exactly six seconds off the PR she set at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the end of June. Jen Rhines of the U.S. finished eighth in the same race in 15:13.11, and USA 10,000m champion Amy Rudolph finished 11th in 15:29.37.
In the "B" heat of the 5,000m, Sara Hall finished third in 15:20.88, and she was followed closely by Katie McGregor, who set a PR in finishing fourth (15:22.60). The other U.S. representatives in the field were Renee Metivier (eighth, 15:37.49), NCAA 10,000m champion Victoria Jackson (10th, 15:58.17), Missy Buttry (12th, 16:15.31), Sharon Dickie Thompson (13th, 16:18.33), Samia Akbar (14th, 16:20.23), and Annie Bersagel (17th, 16:49.48).
In the 800, Christian Smith led the way for the U.S. men, finishing second to Uganda’s Abraham Chepkirwok in the "A" race, 1:45.58 to 1:45.92. The U.S.’s Sam Burley was close behind, grabbing third in 1:46.04. Former Azusa Pacific star and NAIA champion Tim Ramirez finished eighth in 1:49.57. In the "B" heat of the 800, Jonathan Johnson showed that he belonged in the "A" race by finishing third in 1:46.50. Derrick Peterson finished sixth in 1:46.69.
Frances Santin was the lone U.S. female competitor in the 800; she finished fourth in 2:02.99.
Posted by Alison Wade at 10:49 p.m. | Tags: Race Reports, Race Results