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Chelanga promises ‘good show’ at Hayward
Published by
Jun 3rd 2010, 7:32pm
Kenyan promises ‘good show’ at Hayward
Appeared in print: Thursday, Jun 3, 2010
Liberty’s Sam Chelanga has never raced at Hayward Field.
But the native of Kenya, one of three distance runners who will double in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene next week, has friends on the Oregon Track Club Elite roster and they’ve told him what to expect.
Here's another story on him.
SAM CHELANGA - STRIVING FOR SUCCESS By Chris Lotsbom (c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
Liberty's
Sam Chelanga has always lived in the shadows of others. From the time
he was living in Nairobi, the 168 cm (5'-6"), 57 kg (125 lb) Chelanga
had never been one to steal the show. That is, until this year.
At
first, Chelanga was overshadowed by his brother, Joshua, a 2:07
marathoner. Growing up in Nairobi, his brother, who is twelve years
older, urged him to begin running, saying it would help straighten his
life. Running could give him a direction, as he saw that Sam could
have the potential to earn a scholarship or money for the family.
That's when the journey began in April of 2004, the time Chelanga first
began to run competitively.
"I didn't have a coach, [I] just
trained with my brother's group," said the 25 year-old through a
Facebook message last week. "I would say I got tips from many guys on
the team but Paul Tergat and my brother inspired me the most."
With
help from friends and former marathon world record holder Tergat, who
was Joshua's training partner, Chelanga ended up at Fairleigh Dickinson
University in New Jersey. Once he arrived in the United
States, Chelanga had to transition into a new life. Moving to a new
country while living a college life filled with academic and athletic
demands posed a challenge to the diminutive athlete.
"Well it
was tough the first time I got here, but once I got used to the culture
and NCAA student athlete life- I can manage now," said the junior
majoring in Government.
After transferring from Fairleigh
Dickinson to Liberty in 2007, Chelanga began a new journey, one in
which he was initially overshadowed by teammate Josh McDougal. While
redshirting his first year at Liberty, Chelanga trained with McDougal
and ultimately watched him win the NCAA Cross Country title on his
fourth try. Chelanga surely was motivated to achieve the same success
as his teammate and friend.
But it would have to wait. For
the 2008/2009 season, when Chelanga was a redshirt sophomore, it was
the University of Oregon's Galen Rupp who edged him in all three
seasons: cross country, indoor and outdoor track. After being beaten in
a final sprint at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Chelanga again
had to settle for a runner-up position at the NCAA Indoor Championships
behind Rupp. He followed that with a third place finish at the NCAA
Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m.
It was in that year,
however, when Chelanga broke through, running 27:28.48 at the Brutus
Hamilton Invitational, a time which ranked #18 in the world for the
10,000m in 2009. The time, then a collegiate record, was just a shade
of what was to come in the future. While the nation was praising Rupp
and talking about how he was the next great legend to come out of
Oregon, Chelanga was still somewhat under the radar. People knew he
was good, they just weren't talking about him.
This
impressive statistic summed up Chelanga's senior year: in 18 cross
country and track races, Chelanga only lost to two collegiate runners:
Rupp, and Arkansas's Shawn Forrest. That's how good he had become.
Not
only was Chelanga blossoming on the track, he was achieving in the
classroom as well; he earned the Big South Howard Bagwell Male
Student-Athlete of the Year award, recognizing him for his strength
both with, and without, his racing spikes on.
As
the 2009-2010 school year began, it finally looked as if Chelanga could
achieve the fame which he had waited for and deserved. Entering last
November's NCAA Cross Country Championships, Chelanga was the top
returner, but many were talking of how Stanford's Chris Derrick or
Northern Arizona's David McNeill would pose a large threat to him.
Then again, he had lost at the Pre-Nationals cross country meet earlier
in the season. However, Chelanga put any talk of an upset to rest as
soon as the gun fired, taking the lead and never looking back,
ultimately beating the rest of the field by a whopping 25 seconds while
setting a course record of 28:41.3.
Chelanga had earned his
national title, one which he had traveled thousands of miles and across
oceans to grasp. Motivated by his late mother, Ann, and friend Tergat,
Chelanga had done what he once never thought was possible: achieve
success in America.
But after the cross country season was
over, and the focus shifted to the indoor and outdoor ovals, Chelanga
again had to face the challenge of rising above the rest to ensure
success. Defeated in the 5000m at Indoor nationals by McNeill,
Chelanga came outdoors wanting to prove something big. That he did at
the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. Smashing his own collegiate
record by twenty seconds despite being hampered by an injury on the top
of his foot, Chelanga ran 27:08.39, placing third in a field filled
with top professional runners. He even beat Rupp, who was ever-elusive
while still in college. But again, the limelight was on someone else-
this time it was Chris Solinsky, who had set a new American Record.
Even after running a spectacular race, breaking an NCAA record, and
beating most of a star studded field, Chelanga had to settle for second
fiddle behind Solinsky.
But not having the spotlight doesn't get to Sam Chelanga.
"No it doesn't bother me," he explained. "Actually, I never really thought about that."
One
thing is for sure- Sam Chelanga is here to run fast, and succeed.
Whether it's him all alone ahead of the pack, or mixing it up with the
rest of the competition, Chelanga wants to win. That's that matters.
"I'm just focusing on racing," he said. "The times will just come."
With
the NCAA Outdoor Championships opening one week from today, Chelanga is
poised to earn that second, and possibly third, national title.
Winning both the 5000m and 10,000m at regionals, he is ready to toe the
line in Eugene with the best the NCAA has to offer. This time, he
might have the spotlight all to himself.
ENDS
Read the full article at: www.registerguard.com
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