Reed moves into 800-metre semifinal, Sullivan undecided about future
Published Wednesday August 20th, 2008
BEIJING - Gary Reed figured he had dodged a bullet Wednesday.
Reed finished third in his heat in the 800 metres but still managed to qualify for the semifinals at the Beijing Olympic Games.
The Kamloops, B.C., native was frustrated with his time of one minute 46.02 seconds which left him 12th among the 24 qualifiers.
"It was a bad race," said Reed, who stood with his hands on his hips and his head shaking. "I thought I had run a smart race. I didn't.
"I thought I was feeling better than my body wanted to feel."
While Reed stewed, middle distance runner Kevin Sullivan said he hasn't made a decision on his future after making an unexpected appearance in the 5,000 metres, where he failed to advance to the final.
"I have been taking it a year at a time for probably the last six years," said Sullivan, 34, of Brantford, Ont., who finished 34th in 14:09.16. "The season is not over yet. I have more races.
"I probably won't decide until the end of the year."
Reed, 26, led for most of his race. In the final 75 metres first Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan passed him, then Spain's Manuel Olmedo streaked by them both.
"I let my guard down," said Reed. "You can't let your guard down at the Olympics. I couldn't respond when they came up on me.
"I kicked a little too early and I paid the price."
Olmedo won the heat in 1:45.78. Ismail was timed in 1:45.87.
Wilfred Bungei of Kenya led all qualifiers in 1:44.90.
Coach Wynn Gmitroski said the race's slow pace resulted in Reed beginning his final kick too soon.
"It was a bit of a scare," said Gmitroski. "He was running a slower pace than he's used to and got lethargic in the rhythm.
"They caught him by surprise over the last 30 metres and he couldn't response because he was pushing it too far out."
Gmitroski expects Reed will be better prepared for Thursday's semifinals. The top two finishers in each of the eight heats and the next eight fastest times moved onto the three semifinals.
The final will be Saturday.
Reed came into the Olympics having run the sixth fastest 800 metres in the world this year in a time of 1:43.68. A silver medallist at the 2007 world championships, Reed finished 18th at the Athens Games.
While Reed advanced, Achraf Tadili of Laval, Que., missed the cut. His time of 1:48.87 left him 47th.
"I am disappointed for sure," said Tadili, who won a silver medal in the 800 metres at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. "The race went slow.
"I had a comfortable position. Everybody had the energy left to finish quick. I gave it 100 per cent but my speed wasn't 100 per cent."
Tadili said a leg injury, suffered during trailing in April, hampered his training.
"I didn't train my speed as I much as I wanted to this year," he said. "It cost me an Olympic semifinal."
Reed, a medal contender in track, didn't want to suffer the same fate as Tyler Christopher.
Christopher of Chilliwack, B.C., came to Beijing as a potential medallist in the 400 metres but failed to advance out of the preliminary round Monday.
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby, Ont., captured Canada's first track medal in 12 years Tuesday night with a bronze in the 100-metre hurdles.
Sullivan made the decision to run in the taxing 5,000 metres after failing to advance out of Sunday's semifinal of his better event, the 1,500.
"I thought it was realistic to give it a shot," said Sullivan. "We knew it was going to be tough, regardless if the pace was fast or slow.
"I was feeling pretty good, feeling pretty relaxed. I thought I had nothing to lose by giving it a shot."
Sullivan's time was almost 50 seconds off his personal best in the 5,000.
Matthew Tegenkamp of the U.S. had the fastest qualifying time of 13:37.36. The top 15 racers advanced to Saturday's final.
Sullivan missed the 1996 Olympics with an injury. He was a very respectable fifth in the 1,500 at the 2000 Sydney Games, then dropped to ninth four years ago in Athens.
The red-haired runner was fifth at the 2007 world championships.
"Just because you have a disappointing race doesn't mean you pack the rest of the year in," said Sullivan. "I'm not the type of person to do that.
"I'll jump back on the horse and get some training in."
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