Kennedy rejoins sport's elite after '00 car crash
INDIANAPOLIS -- Bob Kennedy overcame years of health problems to win the U.S. cross-country championship Sunday and reclaim his place among running's elite.
Kennedy, the 33-year-old American record-holder at 3,000 and 5,000 meters, won his only other U.S. cross country title in 1992. No American runner has won in cross country so many years apart.
He finished the snow-covered 12-kilometer course in 35 minutes, 3 seconds.
Robert Gary, a steeplechase Olympian in 1996 and the distance coach at Ohio State, was second in 35:07. Jorge Torres was third in 35:15 and miler Alan Webb was fourth in 35:21.
The event served as the qualifier for the World Cross Country Championships, set for March 20-21 at Brussels, Belgium. Top six finishers in men's, women's and junior divisions are eligible.
Sunday's race was Kennedy's first cross-country race since the 2001 world championships, where he won a bronze medal as a member of the third-place U.S. team.
He was aiming toward a third Olympics in 2000 before injuring his back in an auto collision in May of that year. Since then, he has also suffered from an underactive thyroid and multiple injuries.
Shalane Flanagan, of Marblehead, Mass., won the women's 4K race. She pulled away from Carrie Tollefson in the closing 150 meters to win in 12:26. Tollefson was second in 12:26 and Lauren Flesh man third in 12:38.
Flanagan, a two-time NCAA cross country champion for North Carolina, is redshirting this track season to prepare for the Athens Olympics.
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press
