Nearly 10 Years Later Nicole Teters American Indoor 800m Record Still Stands
By David Monti
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
NEW YORK (02-Feb) -- When Nicole Teter stepped
on the track for the 800m final of the USA Indoor Championships here at
the Armory in Upper Manhattan in 2002, she was excited by the prospect
of winning her first-ever national title. She was in very good shape,
and her Nike Farm Team coach Frank Gagliano knew she was capable of a
fast time, even though his athlete had never broken two minutes before.
"The gun went off, and she went," Gagliano recalled in a telephone interview yesterday.
Teter, who was 28 at the time, immediately left
the rest of the field well behind, and ran the first lap in under 29
seconds. She felt strong, she said, and was just trying to run level
splits and hold her form.
"I wasn't thinking of American record fast time, but I was thinking of a fast time," Teter said on the telephone yesterday from her home in Eugene, Ore. "And of course to win."
On each successive lap, Teter passed Gagliano
and her Farm Team clubmates who had gathered along the rail at the
beginning of the backstretch. She glanced repeatedly at Gagliano who,
with stopwatch in hand, was pumping his arms to encourage her to keep up
the pace. Her clubmates, including Jason Lunn and Michael Stember,
were screaming for her to keep going.
"From what I remember I had a rhythm going and I was just running," Teter
marveled. "Those indoor tracks are so short, I could see my teammates
on the side rail with Gags just cheering me on. He was doing 'fast
arms' to spur me on."
Teter began to realize just how close she was
running to her physical limit, but was determined to push all the way to
the finish. Gagliano had only begun coaching her the preceding August,
and he had her run a fall cross country season to improve her strength.
That kind of endurance training was now paying off.
"I was just thinking I was hoping I can just sustain this," she said.
"I didn't want to die. The last thing you want on a fast pace is to
rig-up."
That didn't happen. On that day --which in exactly one month will be ten years ago-- Teter
clocked 1:58.71 to break Mary Slaney's previous national indoor record
of 1:58.9, a mark which had stood for over 22 years. She was stunned.
"I was somewhat speechless, and just super, super excited," Teter said. "I remember they were playing that U2 song, 'Beautiful Day.' For sure at that time, it was the highlight of my career."
Now married with two young children --Charlie, 22 months and Lucy, six months-- Teter
said she can hardly believe that her record has stood for nearly ten
years, especially given the recent resurgence of American middle
distance running. Indeed, last season was one of the best for American
women in the 800m. Eight USA women broke two minutes during last
summer's outdoor season, and Alysia Montano and Maggie Vessey finished
fourth and sixth, respectively, in the World Championships final. Teter
said she would like nothing more than to see her record broken,
something which could happen at either Saturday's New Balance Indoor
Grand Prix in Boston, or one week later at the Millrose Games here.
"I think records are for sure meant to be broken," she said. "By no
means do I want it to stop with me." She added: "I am super-excited to
see these women run. It's super-exciting to see how well these women
are doing."
Morgan Uceny, the #1-ranked 1500m runner in the world last year, will
compete in the 800m at the Millrose Games. She said she has a lot of
respect for Teter's record.
"I would say that obviously the record is tough because it has stood for
ten years," Uceny commented in an e-mail message. "I also think the
recent emergence of many strong middle distance runners means the record
could definitely be taken down if the right conditions arose."
Teter's career ended tragically at the Beijing
Olympics in 2008. About 150 meters into her first-round race, she
partially tore her left Achilles tendon, falling to the track in searing
pain. She would not race again (after getting surgery on her Achilles
she found out she was pregnant). She's now a full-time mother but,
along with husband Andy Downin, works for the Eugene Marathon where she
coordinates the event's volunteers.
"She was very, very talented," Gagliano concluded. "You knew she was a very special person, as a person and an athlete."
NOTE: Race Results Weekly provides professional athlete consulting for the Millrose Games --Ed.
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