EUGENE, Ore. -- Adam Goucher, husband of Olympic hopeful and Duluth native Kara Goucher, put his Olympic fate in the hands of what he calls a miracle worker.
Goucher, 33, after having ankle surgery in November, was sidelined again recently with back problems as he prepared for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. He hopes to qualify for the American team at either 5,000 or 10,000 meters for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing in August.
Ed Ryan, director of sports medicine for the U.S. Olympic Committee, had the task of getting Goucher ready for the start of the trials today at Hayward Field. The men's 5,000-meter semifinal race is at 10:40 p.m. Duluth time.
Ryan works at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Goucher's hometown of Colorado Springs, Colo. During his trip there, Goucher said he was put back together and anticipates competing in both distance events.
"In two days I went from having a hard time just walking around to being able to resume my regular training," Goucher said recently from home in Portland, Ore. "Our coach [Alberto Salazar of the Nike Oregon Project] said it was one of the most miraculous turnarounds he's seen. I've been able to run pain-free."
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Goucher was a 2000 U.S. Olympian at 5,000 meters, winning the American trials race and placing 13th in the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.
A healthy Goucher, however, still has plenty of work to do. To gain an Olympic berth, he must finish in the top three of either final and meet the Olympic qualifying standards in those events -- 13 minutes, 21.50 seconds for 5,000 and 27:50.00 for 10,000. The standard must be achieved before the end of the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 6.
Conceivably, if Goucher placed in the top three of Monday's 5,000 final, but
didn't reach the qualifying time standard, another race could be set up outside the trials next week, possibly in Portland at Lewis and Clark College.
