Jen Rhines, surrounded by a trio of Nike runners at one point, fought off all but one of them to finish second in the women's 5,000-meter final last night at the U.S. Olympic trials and earn a trip to Beijing.
Kara Goucher won the race in 15 minutes, 1.02 seconds. Rhines was next at 15:02.02 and Shalane Flanagan finished third in 15:02.80.
For Rhines, a 1996 Villanova graduate, this will her third Olympic berth in a third event. She qualified as a marathoner in 2004 and in the 10,000 meters in 2000.
"I qualified for the marathon last time and I was a little disappointed I finished 34th," she said. "Now I'm back on the track and I really think I'm better-suited to the 5K and 10K."
Rhines fought out of the middle of the pack in the early laps. With five laps to go, she was in third behind Arianna Lambie and Shalane Flanagan.
Lambie dropped back in the last three laps and Goucher joined the fight. Those three battled down the stretch as the pace quickened. The final 800 meters went in a rapid 2:12.
"I just ran out of gas the last 320 meters," said Rhines, 34, a native of Liverpool, N.Y.
She said she will run three more races in Europe to prepare for the August Olympics.
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