EUGENE, Ore. — When Kara Goucher won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the world championships last summer, it marked a major breakthrough for her and American distance running.
It was the first world championships medal for an American woman in the 10,000. It also capped a remarkable comeback from several injury-plagued years leading up to the Athens Olympics and validated the decision Goucher and husband, Adam, made that fall to leave Boulder for Portland, Ore., to train under former marathon great Alberto Salazar.
But it didn’t mean as much to her as finishing second to Shalane Flanagan late Friday night in the 10,000 at the Olympic Trials, a result that made Goucher an Olympian at last.
“I’ve wanted to be an Olympian for so long,” said Goucher, 29. “The medal is awesome, and the medal proved to me I can compete with anybody on any given day, but this is like, ‘I’m an Olympian!’ This is better, this is the childhood dream.”
Goucher was so determined to earn that trip to Beijing, she tuned out her husband’s race, a 5,000-meter semifinal. Adam Goucher, like his wife a former NCAA cross country champion for Colorado, qualified for Monday night’s final shortly before his wife hit the track.
“I didn’t watch the race at all,” Kara said. “I put on my headphones and completely pretended I didn’t have the love of my life on the track because I didn’t want to know. I knew he was going to get through. I’ve seen his training, I’ve seen his progression, but I didn’t want to let it affect me either way.”
Kara finished less than three seconds behind Flanagan, who broke the American record May 4 at Stanford. Joining them on the Olympic team is Goucher’s training partner, Amy Begley.
The joy Goucher and Begley shared celebrating each other’s good fortune stood in vivid contrast to the 2004 Trials, where both Gouchers shed tears after failing to make the team. Both had struggled with stress fractures training in Boulder that severely inhibited their training.
Friends encouraged them to quit the sport and get on with their lives, but the Gouchers still believed they had something left.
“I had to go through that, and I’ve learned to appreciate my running so much more because of that,” Kara said. “There was always a little hope in me. That’s why I didn’t quit, that’s why I moved across the country, that’s why I sought out other coaches and never completely flamed out.”
Their careers were reborn in Portland, thanks to Salazar’s coaching and access to the lavish training facilities at the Nike complex in Beaverton. When they are injured, they train on anti-gravity treadmills that utilize air pressure to decrease impact.
Now Oregon feels like home. Flanagan’s coach, John Cook, warned his former Tar Heel that racing Goucher at Hayward Field would be like the North Carolina basketball team playing at Duke — and it was.
“The fans were so amazing,” Kara said. “It’s really great to be accepted now. I feel like an Oregonian.”
Adam Goucher battled back problems in recent weeks that required him to use that anti-gravity treadmill. Six months before that, he underwent foot surgery.
“It’s really hard because Adam has been through so much already, it’s like, how much can one person take?” Kara said. “At the same time he’s handled it so well and I’m so proud of him. He turned it around. He’s a believer.”
To qualify for Beijing in the 5,000, Adam Goucher must finish in the top three Monday and meet the Olympic qualifying standard. The favorites in the race, including world champion Bernard Lagat, already have the qualifying mark.
“I’ve got to get through the final, but I think I’m in a great position and I’m ready go,” Adam said. “It’s going to be fun. There’s going to be two Gouchers on that team.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
