Walker's Pace: Wheating Rips a 3:30 1,500 at Monaco
Thursday, July 22, 2010, 11:45 a.m.
Andrew Wheating has just ran the fourth-fastest 1,500 meters in American history.
The lanky Oregon alum clocked 3:30.90 in a fourth place finish Thursday at the Diamond League meet in Monaco.
That time trails only Bernard Lagat (3:29.30, 2005), Sydney Maree (3:29.77, 1985) and Alan Webb (3:30.54, 2007) on the all-time American list.
In a race that featured the five fastest times in the 1,500 in the world this season, Silas Kiplagat of Kenya won in 3:29.27, followed by Morocco's Amine Laalou in 3:29.53, Augustine Choge of Kenya in 3:30.22, Wheating and then Ryan Gregson in an Australian-record 3:31.06.
With the field single file behind a pair rabbits who successfully pushed the pace, Wheating remained patient near the end of that line until the bell lap. He worked his way up to eighth on the backstretch and then let loose a long kick around the final curve to pass everyone, save the top three who had broken from the pack, and had just enough left to hold off Gregson at the line.
Wheating, from Norwich, Vt., beat his previous PR of 3:37.52 set May 29 at the 2010 NCAA West Regional in Austin, Texas, by nearly seven seconds.