Our sole American competitor today, Kevin Eastler, started the race in last place. A conservative racer, Eastler employed the same strategy he used in the Athens Games. There he started in last place with teammate Tim Seaman and the duo marched through the field into 20th and 21st place finish. However, the Eastler of four years ago was healthy and well trained. Unfortunately, Eastler entered today’s race recovering from surgery that repaired a sport’s hernia. Although the surgery was in December, he missed many months of training, due to doctors’ inability to diagnose his problem. Eastler, who had the achieved the A standard in the 20K and hoped to qualify in both the 20K and 50K was in no shape to compete at the 50K. Fortunately, he was able to win the 20K Olympic Trails in a time of 1:27:08 and gain a berth onto the Olympic Team. His plan was to walk a few seconds a kilometer slower than the trials, primarily due to the heat. Walking the first 2K in 8:40 and then settling in around 8:50 pace, it looked like the disciplined Eastler was sticking to his plan.

Kevin Eastler, USA - Starting Conservatively

Kevin Eastler in the Shadow of the Bird's Nest Stadium