In a four-day track and field meet that was filled with compelling story lines, the men’s 1,500 was filled with so many that it became a story within itself.
12-pound babies, underdogs, prep sensations, NCAA Champions, ESPN and brain power all factor into this novel.
This story started two days before the race, in Ann Arbor, Mich., when Olivia Kate McMullen was born at nine pounds and 22 inches long.
“I think she’s going to be a high jumper,” her father, Paul McMullen, said Saturday.
When he raced in the 1,500 Saturday, Paul still hadn’t seen Olivia. He wore a pink ribbon on his chest in honor of his newborn, being careful to explain this to reporters so they wouldn’t think less of him. What Paul did see was the tape at the finish line, and his surprise to learn he had finished third. Was that Gabe Jennings behind him? How did that happen?
But the story gets ahead of itself.
The second part of the story comes in a hotel room in Eugene, hours before the race Saturday. That’s where Andy Downin sits down with his coach to formulate a plan of attack in a race that features so many big names it’s tough to fit them on one hand.
“My plan was just to race smart,” Downin said. “The race plan is 80 percent of the race.”
And race smart he did. When Jennings kicked with 400 meters left, when Seneca Lassiter made a move with 200 to go, when Downin trailed at just 50 meters, he never exhausted himself. He never even flinched, despite being the filly with the 86-1 odds.
The final preface to the race came minutes before the scheduled gun, when the Hayward Field announcer urged his crowd to make some noise because ESPN — yes, the ESPN — would televise the race live nationally.
Then came the race itself, with all that buildup.
NCAA Champion Bryan Berryhill started fast and led for most of the race, just as he did at the NCAAs.
But Jennings, noted for his strong finishing speed, took a large lead with one lap left, perhaps remembering the NCAA race where his kick at 300 meters wasn’t enough to catch Berryhill. Saturday’s charge came too early for Jennings, however, as he sputtered with 20 meters left and finished fourth.
“Gabe just hit the brakes,” McMullen said. “With 10 meters to go, I thought I was fourth.”
Meanwhile, Downin, Lassiter and McMullen took advantage of Jennings’ demise and broke the tape almost in unison, with Downin taking the crown. Berryhill ran an unusually slow final lap and finished seventh.
As a footnote to the race, prep sensation Alan Webb disappointed the Hayward Field crowd after stunning it a month ago at the Prefontaine Classic. He finished fifth and still ran the second-fastest high school 1,500 ever, but he spoke of his disappointment after the race.
“I set a goal for myself, and I didn’t quite get it,” Webb said. “I’ll be back, though. I’m looking forward to more battles with these guys.”
That’s how this story ends. But if Webb’s bold predictions are true, and if the runners have their way, it was only the first of many novels to come in American middle-distance running.