SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Most of the top track and field athletes in the world are taking a much deserved vacation since September. With the Pan American Games running so late in the sport's calendar, opportunities came for other competitors who are enjoying their time in Chile as they win some medals to take back home.
Tuesday marked the second day of the program, with two thirds of the National Stadium filled with fans who didn't seem to know much about the competitors, but were still excited to come with their Halloween costumes and loudly cheer for the locals as the Andes mountains overlooked.
The 27-year-old Kasey Knevelbaard is the unofficial winner of the 5,000-meter race — a Mexican runner is protesting after he finished first and was later disqualified.
Knevelbaard found out he would be racing in Santiago in the middle of September after a very long season.
“It’s challenging, but I don’t want to be someone who’s afraid of not doing anything. You don’t want to miss out on opportunities,” Knevelbaard told The Associated Press. “I had a conversation with my coach. I said I really wanted to do this. He said we were not going to prepare for it, so I was going to have to do it off our normal training.”
The athlete from California clocked 14 minutes, 47.69 seconds in the cold Santiago weather, almost two minutes longer than the American record set by Grant Fisher last September in Brussels.
"A lot of people are in the same boat, like we’re all kind of just testing to see what we can do. I’m grateful that we all got the opportunity to do that," he said. The athlete frequently trains in the mountains in Flagstaff, Arizona, and he will soon go back to training.
“No, no vacations,” Knevelbaard said. “I’m gonna to do about a month of training and I think I’ll run an indoor 5-kilometers in about a month. I hope I go after a fast time. And if not, you know, just get a really good block of training is the goal.”
Ryan Talbot, the decathlon Pan American bronze medalist, is not resting much either. Asked how he felt competing so late in the season, the 23-year-old said: “It’s crazy. Not a lot of people are wanting to do it. So it gives a good chance for a lot of people who are coming up in the sport to experience a big stage like this, especially in track and field and especially for the decathlon.”
Talbot, whose hometown is Alto, Michigan, also found out only a few months ago that he was coming to Chile. “Everybody here, they are warriors. This is so hard, but I enjoyed it all the whole time,” Talbot said.
So is a vacation next?
“We will rest a little, but then start training again for college. The indoor season begins soon,” Talbot said.
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