Queiroi, the first man in history in the 1500 meters, has been retired for 15 years.
Lagat, 45, lost to Queiroi in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He is still active on the field.
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At last weekend's U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials, Abdi Abdirahman, 43, qualified for the Olympics for the fifth time with a third-place finish, while becoming the oldest olympic-qualified middle-distance runner in U.S. history.
The 45-year-old Bernard Lagardt played poorly, running only 2 hours, 14 minutes and 23 seconds in the end, ranking 18th, and the 6th impact on the Olympics may end here.
But at the age of 45, he is still fighting on the field, and this spirit of not being afraid of any challenge is worth learning from all runners.
Not all efforts will succeed, but at least there is no regret.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >01 went to Kenya to train for the Tokyo Olympics</h1>
In order to be able to appear on the Olympic field for the sixth time, Lagat decided to go to Kenya to train.
"Usually, I train in the United States." "But the situation is different now," he said. I spoke to Coach Patrick Sang and he encouraged me to come to Kenya to train. And the track of the trials is very undulating, with a lot of slopes, and the place where I live does not have the training conditions for this kind of slope. So I felt like going to Kenya. ”
Not knowing how to deal with the undulating track is one of Lagart's weaknesses, and Kenya's training conditions are a good simulation of this podo scene, although it did not help him finish in the top three on the undulating track of Atlanta.
Although Lagat was born in Kenya, he has rarely returned here in the past 20 years.
In early January, he bid farewell to his wife and two children and flew from his home in the United States to Kaptagat for a six-week training run with the goal of hitting his sixth Olympic trip to the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials on the last day of February.
The Gyptgart Marathon Camp has been in existence for 18 years, and the most famous athlete is kipchoge, the current marathon world record holder. Lagat and Kipchoge are very good friends, last year's Vienna, 2017 Italy Monza, Lagat are Kipchog "break 2" pacemakers.
In addition to Kipchoge, the camp also has many first-class marathon masters, and Lagart hopes to improve his performance after training with them.
In Kenya, although you can run with a training camp, most of the time Lagat is practiced by yourself. But people like Fatlake and the 30 km/40 km long distance are still training with others.
Once, after running a long distance of 30.5 kilometers, he also called his sister to report on the training situation, and he seemed very excited.
"Kipchog was running with us today, and I was always not far behind him," Lagart described to his sister about the training, "and he only finished running 16 seconds ahead of me." Kipchog, the object of admiration for all of us. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >02 The fate of running began with a pair of shoes given to him by his sister</h1>
Lagat was born into a farming family in Kapsabet, Kenya. He was interested in running because he saw that his sister had more opportunities after running a race.
His sister, Mary, once went to Japan to compete, came back with a pair of shoes for Lagat. It was his first pair of sneakers. After receiving the gift, he wore it no matter what he did, including running 1500 meters a day to school and home.
In 1992, Lagart, a sophomore in high school, competed in his first running competition. The sister was stunned when she saw it, believing that if her brother trained well, he would be able to run faster and get a scholarship to an American university, just like she did.
Mary had won a scholarship to an American university, but instead of choosing to study in the United States, she worked to earn money and earn tuition for her two younger brothers.
"I knew from the beginning that someone had made a sacrifice for me." "So I have to be a good student and then a good runner," Lagat said. How I wish I had said to my sister at that time thank you for earning tuition for me, for encouraging and taking care of me. My path after that was almost the same as my sister had envisioned. ”
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >03 Changed nationality, and Kenyans were furious</h1>
Lagart came to the United States in 1995 to study and run at Washington State University.
During college, he won four NCAA Championship titles under the guidance of James Li (pictured below, first from left). James Li is still his coach today.
In 2000, Lagart left school briefly to prepare for the Sydney Olympics. At the Sydney Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the 1500m. Four years later at the Athens Olympics, he won the silver medal in the 1500m.
But he had become a U.S. citizen three months before the Athens Olympics, but still represented Kenya at the Olympics. Because of this controversy, some people felt that he should hand over the silver medal that did not belong to him, but in the end it was not resolved.
"This [of U.S. citizenship] is a loss for Kenya." "Even though Kenyans like me, the decision still makes them angry and asks me, 'Why are you doing this?'" In their eyes, Lagart was expected to become the world number one, the world number one in Kenya, but in the end it was not. ”
At the 2007 Daegu World Championships in Athletics, he won the 1,500m and also won the 5,000m. With two titles, he returned to Kenya for the first time after he became an American. Perhaps not long enough, people have not forgotten his "betrayal", and he still feels hostility in his hometown. Because his championship, which was supposed to belong to Kenya, became the United States.
"Kenyans feel like their country has lost an opportunity for the flag to fly on the field." "The runners don't think it's a big deal, but it takes time for them to accept it," Lagat said. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >04 Heroes of Americans</h1>
Kenyans are unhappy, while U.S. middle-distance track and field teammates are very welcoming to Lagat. First, because Americans have Lagat, they can compete with the world's top athletes; second, his arrival has also helped the rapid development of the American middle-distance running program.
Alan Webb, considered a genius in high school, later set the U.S. national record for 1 mile – 3:46.91 (Belgium, 2007).
Chris Solinsky, who set a new U.S. record for 10,000 meters in 2010 — 26:59.60,000, became the first U.S. to score 27 points in a 10,000-meter and the first non-African-American to score 27. That same year, he also set a new American record for 5,000 meters — 12 minutes, 55.33 seconds, becoming the second person in U.S. history to score 13 points in the 5,000 meters, a record that was broken by Lagart a year later.
Matt Tegenkamp, the holder of the U.S. two-mile national record (8:07.07, Eugene 2007), is the only eight runners in U.S. history to score 13 points in the 5,000m (12:58.56, Brussels, 2009).
All three were Lagatte's teammates at the World Championships in 2007 and the Olympics in 2008.
"I've never heard a negative review." Lagart said, "It makes me feel like this is home and it's very comfortable with my teammates every time. ”
In fact, Lagart is not the first non-American-born high-level middle-distance runner to join the U.S. team.
Born in Eritrea, Meb Keflezighi represented Team USA with a silver medal in the Athens Olympic Marathon, the 2009 New York Marathon and the 2014 Boston Marathon.
Born in Mexico, Leo Manzano won the silver medal in the 1500m at the 2012 London Olympics for team USA, becoming the first American to win a medal in the 1500m at the Olympics since 1968.
In addition to helping Team USA win medals on the track, Lagatt also helped Team USA off the track. He is one of six athletes on the World Athletics Board.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >05 He is a living legend from the field to the road</h1>
Lagart represented Kenya at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He later joined the United States, representing Team USA at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Four years ago, at the age of 41, he participated in the Olympic Games for the fifth time and finished fifth in the 5,000 meters event.
After that, he announced that he had retired from the track and concentrated on road running.
At the 2019 Gold Coast Marathon, he set a U.S. record in the over-40 age group with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 10 seconds.
However, this record was soon set, and the new record holder was Abdi Abdirahman, who finished third in the National Trials, who ran 2 hours, 11 minutes and 34 seconds at the 2019 New York City Marathon, and the result of this selection was 2 hours 10 minutes and 03 seconds.
"I love the challenges that push me forward." Lagart said.
Although he did not qualify for the Marathon, Lagart did not miss the Olympics, he still had a chance. If you can stand out at the National Athletics Trials in June, you still have a chance to compete in the Olympics.
"I'm not going to stop." He said, "I still have a lot of opportunities this summer. Maybe it's another marathon, maybe it's another half marathon, maybe it's Eugene's 10,000 meters. After the Atlanta Trials, my goal will be these. ”
From the age of 20 to the age of 45, Lagart himself found it incredible that such a long sports career. He said that when he was 20 years old, he never thought that he could run on the track at the age of 40.
After the 2012 London Olympics, he felt that his sporting career should be over, but then he won the 5,000 meters at the Rio Olympic Trials, and then ran a staggering 13:07.78 at the Olympics. He realized that his athletic career was far from over.
Queiroi, the first man in history to race in the 1500 meters, has never competed in a distance of more than 5000 meters, and has now retired for 15 years.
Lagart, who lost to Queiroi at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He is still active on the field.
In fact, Queiroi is only 2 months older than Lagat.
As the second fastest (3:26.34) in 1500m history and the national record holder in the 3000m and 5000m, Lagart is a living legend.
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