Lagat's American Olympic debut fizzles in 1,500

BEIJING (AP) Bernard Lagat was a two-time Olympic medalist for Kenya. As an American, he couldn't even make the 1,500 finals in Beijing.

Lagat struggled to a sixth-place finish in his semifinal heat Sunday night, leading an American flameout in the event.

The United States hasn't won an Olympic medal in the men's 1,500 meters since Jim Ryun took the silver in Mexico City in 1968. It was supposed to be different this time.

"It's a big loss for us," fellow American 1,500 runner Leo Manzano said. "We really thought we had a good chance to have at least one guy in that final."

Lagat became a U.S. citizen in 2004 and last year in Osaka won the 1,500 and 5,000 world titles in his first major international competition running for the United States.

After finding out he was 0.02 second behind the last qualifier Sunday, he tried to shrug off the disappointment.

"So I didn't make it?" he said. "Hey, that's life. ... I'm not going to cry."

The 33-year-old still plans to race in the 5,000, although he said he will talk to his coach before deciding for sure.

Four years ago in Athens, Lagat was part of one of the greatest 1,500 races in Olympic history, a shoulder-to-shoulder showdown with Hicham El Guerrouj. The Moroccan won, with Lagat getting the silver, 0.12 second behind the winner. Lagat also has a bronze medal from the 1,500 in the 2000 Sydney Games.

Abdi Abdirahman, who finished 15th in the 10,000 Sunday night, shares a house with the Lagat family in Tucson, Ariz.

"You're always surprised when a great athlete doesn't make the finals," Abdirahman said. "But it's OK. You've got to move on."

Lagat found himself in a precarious position through most of the race and then couldn't hold on to the fifth-place spot that would have earned him a finals berth.

"I thought, 'Man, I've got to dig deep today to get in,'" he said. "I tried to maintain that, get into the fifth spot, but didn't make it. You know what? Life goes on."

Lagat's young American teammates, Manzano and Lopez Lomong, finished last in their heats.

Lomong, a "Lost Boy of Sudan" who spent 10 years in a Kenyan refugee camp, carried the U.S. flag in the opening ceremony. He, too, was not expressing disappointment.

"Wow, what a great experience for me," Lomong said. "To come here with my great colors on my chest and having a lot of people waving the flag, it's wonderful."

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