Hehir Takes 7th at U.S. Olympic Trials
7/1/2016 10:11:00 PM | Track and Field
Late to be accepted into the field, Martin Hehir only learned he was going to be racing in the U.S. Olympic trials two days ago.
He didn't waste the opportunity though, as the Syracuse alum pushed to a seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters on Friday night in Eugene, Oregon. Hehir crossed the line in 28:56.14 after working his way up the field throughout the race.
"That was really big for me," Hehir said afterwards. "I ran the race from the back because my training has only been so-so for the last month so I really wanted to play it conservative and it worked out great today."
Galen Rupp, 2012 silver medalist at the London Olympics won the race in 27:55.04, with Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir earning the other two spots to Rio de Janeiro with the U.S. team via their second and third place finishes respectively.
"I found out 48 hours ago and travelled all day yesterday to get here," Hehir said. "I just sat in my hotel room once I got here to try to rest up. I dropped a whole lot of money to get here last minute, but it was worth it. You don't skip the Olympic trials."
One of the most decorated athletes in the history of Syracuse's cross country and track and field programs. Hehir was a leader for the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Champions, earning his second-straight All-America nod in cross country with a top-10 finish this year. On the track, he was a two-time NCAA qualifier in the 10k, earning Second Team All-America honors in 2015 after taking second in the event at the ACC Championship that season. He also was a First Team All-American in the 3000-meters during his final indoor season in 2015.Â
In addition, the Washingtonville, N.Y. native claimed a pair of individual conference cross country championships, taking the 2014 ACC individual crown and 2012 BIG EAST title as the Orange swept all-four conference championships during his time on the squad. Hehir was the 2014 ACC 10,000-meter champion as well.
Hehir's race is a strong start to a busy week for the Orange at Olympic trials. Sarah Pagano will be the next to look for a spot in Rio in the women's 10k tomorrow afternoon on NBC.
Hehir's next race will come locally, competing in the Boilermaker 15k road race in Utica, N.Y. next Sunday.
Syracuse has already qualified a number of athletes to the Olympics across multiple sports. Alyssa Manley (field hockey/USA), Natalie Mastracci (rowing/Canada), Jim Boeheim (basketball coach/USA), Carmelo Anthony (basketball/USA), Flings Owusu-Agyapong (track and field/Ghana) and Katie Zaferes (triathlon/USA) have already punched tickets to Rio.
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He didn't waste the opportunity though, as the Syracuse alum pushed to a seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters on Friday night in Eugene, Oregon. Hehir crossed the line in 28:56.14 after working his way up the field throughout the race.
"That was really big for me," Hehir said afterwards. "I ran the race from the back because my training has only been so-so for the last month so I really wanted to play it conservative and it worked out great today."
Galen Rupp, 2012 silver medalist at the London Olympics won the race in 27:55.04, with Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir earning the other two spots to Rio de Janeiro with the U.S. team via their second and third place finishes respectively.
"I found out 48 hours ago and travelled all day yesterday to get here," Hehir said. "I just sat in my hotel room once I got here to try to rest up. I dropped a whole lot of money to get here last minute, but it was worth it. You don't skip the Olympic trials."
One of the most decorated athletes in the history of Syracuse's cross country and track and field programs. Hehir was a leader for the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Champions, earning his second-straight All-America nod in cross country with a top-10 finish this year. On the track, he was a two-time NCAA qualifier in the 10k, earning Second Team All-America honors in 2015 after taking second in the event at the ACC Championship that season. He also was a First Team All-American in the 3000-meters during his final indoor season in 2015.Â
In addition, the Washingtonville, N.Y. native claimed a pair of individual conference cross country championships, taking the 2014 ACC individual crown and 2012 BIG EAST title as the Orange swept all-four conference championships during his time on the squad. Hehir was the 2014 ACC 10,000-meter champion as well.
Hehir's race is a strong start to a busy week for the Orange at Olympic trials. Sarah Pagano will be the next to look for a spot in Rio in the women's 10k tomorrow afternoon on NBC.
Hehir's next race will come locally, competing in the Boilermaker 15k road race in Utica, N.Y. next Sunday.
Syracuse has already qualified a number of athletes to the Olympics across multiple sports. Alyssa Manley (field hockey/USA), Natalie Mastracci (rowing/Canada), Jim Boeheim (basketball coach/USA), Carmelo Anthony (basketball/USA), Flings Owusu-Agyapong (track and field/Ghana) and Katie Zaferes (triathlon/USA) have already punched tickets to Rio.
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