RIO DE JANEIRO — Boris Berian’s improbable Olympic odyssey ended Monday night when the Widefield High School graduate finished eighth in the finals of the 800 meters.
Berian, who was an unsponsored runner working at a McDonald’s inside a Colorado Springs Wal-Mart two years ago, ran 1:46.15 in a race won by world record holder David Lekuta Rudisha of Kenya in 1:42.15. Rudisha set his world record four years ago at the London Olympics.
American Clayton Murphy was the surprise bronze medalist, finishing in 1:42.93.
“I guess I’m still inexperienced,” said Berian, 23, who has been competing at the elite level a little over a year. “But it’s an Olympic final. It’s the Olympics, so it’s not going to be easy. I’m grateful to be here, I’m an Olympian, forever will be. I’m happy for that.”
Berian was in contact with the leaders until the 600-meter mark but he fell off the pace there.
“It’s the world’s best, like literally, the top eight,” Berian said. “The world record holder is in it, too. It kind of caught me off guard, but at the same time it was like, ‘Gotta deal with it, gotta go.'”
Berian said he began to tie up with about 220 meters left in the race.
“I was pretty tired,” Berian said. “Trying to hold on, giving it my all. It’s the Olympics, I can’t be too mad. I made the final. I’m young, I have a great coach, a great team. So just stay positive and keep improving. I’ve got some fight. I’m not going to give up that easy.”
Murphy, 21, is a student at the University of Akron. He’s the first American medalist in the 800 since Johnny Gray took bronze in 1992.
“It’s cool, first American in years,” Berian said. “That also means we’ve got a strong young 800 group. He’s younger than me and he medalled already. I’ll look forward to racing him in the future. We’ll definitely push each other.”
