News10 Feb 2008


Dunn wins US 50km but will see Beijing qualification at World Race Walking Cup

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Philip Dunn (USA) (© Getty Images)

Miami, FloridaTwotime Olympian and 1999 Pan American bronze medallist Philip Dunn won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials 50km Race Walk in convincing fashion on Saturday (9) at Crandon Park in Miami, Florida.

Dunn and Matt Boyles, who was competing in only the second 50 Km Race Walk of his career, had ample opportunity to get to know each other during the majority of the race. They led a group that included veteran Ray Sharp, 48, and newcomer Yariv Pomeranz after the first three laps of the 25-lap, 2-kilometre course.

Dunn and Boyles were shoulder-to-shoulder after five laps and it was a two-man race from then on. Boyles opened a 10-yard lead on Dunn at the 30 km mark and his lead was three seconds over Dunn at 36 km. At 38 km, the two combatants were shoulder-to-shoulder and that's when Dunn began to make his move. At the 42 km mark, Dunn held a 59-second lead over Boyles and he cruised to the finish in 4 hours 12 minutes 55 seconds, with Boyle the runner-up in 4:14:30.

"The 50 km is always a challenging race. It's a brutal endurance contest," said Dunn. I was in the thick of it the entire way and that's where I wanted to be. It went exactly how I envisioned it. In a 50K, the last half is when the race starts. I really made a move at 38K and that was the difference."

In order to compete in the 50km Race Walk at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, Dunn must first better the Olympic Games B qualifying standard of 4 hours 7 minutes. He will attempt to better the B-standard at the 23rd IAAF World Race Walking Cup, May 10-11 in Cheboksary, Russia.

Dunn faced the identical scenario after finishing third at the 2004 Olympic 50 km Trials. On March 23, 2004, Dunn bettered the Olympic A standard and punched his ticket for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, with his time of 3:59:12 at a race in Tijuana, Mexico.

The race, which began at 7:15 a.m., was staged under partly sunny skies with 62% humidity, light winds and temperatures that ranged from 72 degrees at the beginning of the race, to 80 degrees at the end when the heat index hit 82.

USATF

2008 U.S. Olympic Trials - Men's 50 km Race Walk Results

1. Philip Dunn (San Diego, Calif.) 4:12:55
2. Matthew Boyles (Cedarville, Ohio) 4:14:30
3. Benjamin Shorey (Zion, Ill.) 4:27:14


 

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