WSU News Archive

LONDON - Washington State University alumnus Bernard Lagat was denied his third Olympic medal Saturday when he finished fourth in the men's 5,000 meter final at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

 

Great Britian's Mo Farah won his second gold of the games with his 5,000 meter winning time of 13 minutes, 41.66 seconds. Farah won the 10,000 meter earlier in the week. Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia claimed the silver medal with a time of 13:41.98 while Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa of Kenya took the bronze with a time of 13:42.36. Lagat's fourth-place time was 13:42.99. U.S. teammates Galen Rupp, a silver medal winner in the 10,000, finished seventh at 13:45.04 and Lopez Lomong was 10th at 13:48.19.

 

Lagat won a bronze medal in the 1,500 meter at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and won the silver medal in the 1,500 meter at the 2004 Athens Olympics, both while competing for his native Kenya. In 2007, Lagat won the first gold medal by an American in the 1,500 meter at the World Outdoor Championships and the first Olympic or World Championships gold for the U.S. since 1908. He also became the first man ever to win the 1,500 meter- 5,000 meter double at World Outdoors, and the first American to win a World Championship medal of any kind at 5,000 meter. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics running for the U.S., Lagat finished ninth in the 5,000 final after not reaching the 1,500 meter finals.

 

Find a more comprehensive summary of Olympians with northwest ties in the Seattle Times.

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