Former Oregon standout Andrew Wheating said earlier in the week there was about a 70-percent chance he would only be doing the 1,500 meters and not attempting a rigorous 800-1,500 double at the U.S. Olympic trials, which get started today at Hayward Field in Eugene.
As it turns out, Wheating is going with just the 1,500, which has its first qualifying round next Thursday, June 28.
Qualifying for the 800 starts today, with the first of three rounds. For Wheating, running both distances would have meant a total of six races in nine days, assuming he would get to the finals in both.
But Wheating, the 2008 trials runner-up, is just doing the 1,500, where he will be among the favorites.
Despite what he calls some “nasty injuries” this season Wheating says he’s ready.
“I honestly couldn’t be in a better place right now,” he said Tuesday morning during a Eugene press conference.
Wheating said he hit “rock bottom” earlier this month when he finished last among 16 runners in the mile at the prestigious Prefontaine Classic at Hayward.
“I’ve never come to that place where I thought I should give up,” he said. “I bounced back the next week in Vancouver and ran 3:35. That was just a complete turnaround. That’s what I needed, I needed the rebound race.”
Wheating says he’s come to realize that losing is part of track and field and that he needs to use loses as fuel for the next race.
“That’s what I did. You can’t dwell on those bad performances for too long,” he said. “They’re just going to overlap into your other races. I give myself a couple hours after the race and I move on.”