July 13, 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif – University of New Mexico junior Matt Gonzales used a late surge down the final straight-away to win heat one of the men’s 5,000-meter semifinals with a time of 13:44.19 late Monday night at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. Running in front of a live national television audience, Gonzales, a Santa Fe native, represented his homestate well with a fine strategic performance. The two-time All-American will compete in the 5,000 finals on Friday night at 9:55 p.m. (mountain).
The top-3 finishers in Friday’s race, who have met the Olympic “A” qualifying standard of 13:21.50, will represent the United States in Athlens, Greece later this summer.
Wearing the New Mexico cherry and silver uniform, Gonzales kept himself among the top-5 throughout the competition and remained patient despite the relatively slow pace of the race. One of the smallest competitors in the field at 5-5, Gonzales appeared to be boxed in fourth place as the leaders began their final push with 80 meters to go. His size, however, may have been an advantage as he squeezed through a narrow opening on the inside of lane one and surged past Chad Johnson and Eric Savoth for the victory.
2000 Olympic Trials champion Adam Goucher finished a distant 10th in the heat, while 2003 U.S. 5,000 champion Tim Broe won the second heat with the fastest time of the night (13:42.19).
Friday’s Olympic Trials competition will be televised live on USA (Albuquerque channel 50), beginning at 8 p.m. (mountain).