Blisters mar James’ race walk
Allen James’ only complaint about his performance in the 20-kilometer race walk event at the U. S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., Saturday involved the agony of da feet.
“The only glitch was how my new racing flats acted in multiple turns,” he said. “The flats and the 40 turns [in the race] didn’t like each other. So huge blisters developed with 5 kilometers to go.
“Before that, I was cruising. I was picking people off. I was on top of the world. But I couldn’t push any more after that.”
James, a Sanborn resident representing the Bond Lake Athletic Club, turned in a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 12.7 seconds. That was good for sixth place in the event, won by Kevin Eastler of the U. S. Air Force in 1:27:07.1.
At 44 and without much training, James knew that he wouldn’t be a threat to win the event. But when he beat the qualifying standard of 1 hours, 36 minutes last year, he decided to head to Eugene to compete in his fourth trials. James has participated in two Olympics (1992 and 1996) in his career.
“I knew going in that if I had a good race I’d be around 1:32, and that’s about what I did,” he said.
Eastler was the only race walker to hit the Olympic Games’ qualifying standard, so he’ll be America’s lone representative in Beijing.
“The weather was perfect,” Eastler said. “I felt pretty strong and my training had been going well. My only plan was to go out on a solid pace. I didn’t know how everyone else would do and it all worked out well for me.”
James said about Eastler, “He’s got a good support system with the U. S. Air Force, and he’s a great guy.”
James plans to see one more day of competition in Eugene before heading home.
“I’m really enjoying the experience,” he said. “My mom is out here, and my uncle is too. They live in Corvallis. . . . I’ve been hanging out around the track. I’ll take a red-eye flight home and get in Monday.”
