Bernard Lagat has celebrated victory after victory at Hayward Field. On Sunday, he found himself choking back tears instead.
For the past decade, Lagat has been an unrelenting force in American distance running, racking up nine U.S. titles, five world championships medals (two of them gold), and an American record at 5,000 meters. Now 40, the Kenyan-born athlete came into the weekend having qualified for six consecutive world championships and Olympic teams since gaining U.S. citizenship in 2005.
That streak ended in Sunday’s 5,000-meter final at the USATF Outdoor Championships, where Lagat, who won the race last year, struggled to a career-worst 10th-place finish. After the race, his emotions spilled out. “[My kids] came to see me,” he said as his eyes filled with tears. “I saw them there, they gave me a hug. I was going to do it for them.”
For most of the way, the race resembled so many of Lagat’s prior triumphs, with the master tactician biding his time near the middle of the pack, through a slow race.
If history had repeated, Lagat would have then shifted into overdrive at the bell lap, unleashing the same finishing kick that delivered him world championships gold in 2007—and a score of titles since.
But this time his legs couldn’t do it. As Ryan Hill, 25, and Ben True, 29, sprinted to an impressive 1-2 finish, Lagat ran out of gas. For once, he looked his age. “I couldn’t even move the way I wanted to,” he said.
For all the anguish, Lagat’s postrace press conference didn’t offer anything in the way of resignation. He said he plans to race in Europe this summer—and there’s still a chance Lagat will return in 2016 to chase qualification for the Rio Olympics at age 41.
But while Sunday’s disappointment might not mark the end of the road for Lagat, it certainly felt like the end of an era. After the race, third-place finisher Galen Rupp lamented that Lagat wouldn’t be joining him at the world championships this time around. “I was sad to see Bernard not on the team,” Rupp said. “Obviously, he’s been such a great competitor—and still is a great competitor.”
Rupp would know as well as anyone. At the 2012 Olympic Trials, a juicy rivalry took off when Rupp edged Lagat by 0.15 seconds, snapping Lagat’s undefeated record in U.S. 5,000-meter title races. The two have traded blows ever since, but the competition hasn’t squashed their friendship. After Sunday’s race, Lagat found Rupp to congratulate him. “He was just the class act that he always is,” Rupp said.
Lagat has been a fan favorite as well. Case in point: When Lagat’s name was announced at Hayward Field this weekend, the crowd responded with thundering applause—the kind reception usually reserved for the hometown Oregon Ducks.
“Bernard is a sportsman,” said Vin Lananna, president of TrackTown USA. “He treats everybody with dignity, and he’s always the first guy to shake hands. I think that sets a good example for the younger generation.”
One rising star who’s paying attention is Edward Cheserek, an eight-time NCAA champion and, like Lagat, a native of Kenya. They first met while racing in a two mile at the 2013 Millrose Games, where Lagat won in an American record and Cheserek broke the national high school record. After the race, Lagat tracked down his teenage counterpart to offer words of encouragement.
“He told me, ‘Good job, young man,’” Cheserek remembered. “He told me, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, and if you have any questions about running just talk to me.’”
Cheserek says he has tried to emulate Lagat’s race tactics, including the big finishing kick. And he wouldn’t mind matching the outcomes, either. “Lagat is still faster than me, and he’s like twice my age,” Cheserek says. “He’s the top guy I look up to.”
Lagat’s legacy still gives young elite runners lots to look up to, even if he’s no longer the guy they’re trying to chase down.
