Bernard Lagat,
photo by PhotoRun.net, USA Indoor 2011
This is the update on the 1,500 meter heat conundrum that started on Thursday, February 20, 2014. Jon Gugala sent us this update just about an hour ago.
Masters Switched to USA Indoors 1500-meters “A” Heat
by Jon Gugala
At 8:15 p.m. MST on Friday, Riley Masters of the Brooks Beasts Track Club received word through his agent that he has been boosted into the “A” heat of the men’s 1500-meters USA Indoors Championships. It’s been just over 24 hours since he was surprised with a “B” heat placement despite posting one of the faster qualifying times.
“It feels good. I was optimistic that it was just a mistake anyway,” Masters says. “It’s definitely relieving, but I was positive this would be the outcome.”
Danny Mackey, coach of Masters and the Brooks Beasts TC, isn’t so overjoyed. “I thought that would happen when I heard it yesterday,” he says. “It was so illogical that he wasn’t in the ‘A’ heat that there was no way that he couldn’t have been. So now that he’s in, I want to know why, for 24 hours, we’re still talking about it.
“I’ll never get that answer,” Mackey says.
As for Masters, he’s hopeful about competing for a Team USA spot in Sunday’s final. “I guess if there’s this much of a fuss,” he says, “I’d better compete well.”
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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by Larry Eder
