Former Drake Star 36th In Marathon At World Championships
08/22/2009
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Drake Relays
BERLIN, GERMANY -- Former Drake standout distance runner Matt Gabrielson (Belmond, Iowa) finished 36th in the marathon at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday morning.
Gabrielson, running for his fourth U.S. national team, was timed in 2 hours 18 minutes and 41 seconds.
The 26.2 mile course started and ended at the famous Brandenburg Gate and featured four 10-kilometer loops past the main sights in the city, including the Potsdamer Platz, the Victory Column, Bellevue Palace, the Reichstag and Museum Island.
"I was good through half-way, " said Gabrielson, a 2000 graduate of Drake who was a 12-time All-Missouri Valley Conference performer in track and field. "I hit a spot around 30k, but never really hit the wall. I wasn't struggling, but I was running 3:25 or 3:30, when I was running 3:10s, which is 2:14 pace which I thought I was going to run. I ran out of something--I don't know what it was. It's bittersweet, and it's amazing to finish under the Brandenburg Gate with all these people lining the street."
Gabrielson finished second among the American contingent with U.S. Olympian Daniel Browne finishing 24th in 2:16.49.
Kenya's Abel Kirui won the race in 2:06.54. Ninety-one runners started the race, but 21 runners did not finish.
(full story)
