U.S. Opens With a Pair: 1 in Track, 1 in Field

But there was much at stake. Already the American record holder in the distance, Flanagan said she had been deeply inspired by the marathon bronze medal that Deena Kastor won at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. And then there was the shocking 10,000 bronze that Kara Goucher, who finished 10th here in a personal best of 30:55.16, won at the world championships in Osaka, Japan, last year. U.S. distance running has been on the rise, and she wanted to contribute.

"Last year when I won the medal, people used the word 'fluke' or 'luck' a lot," Goucher said. "It drove me nuts. . . . We're not intimidated by anybody anymore."

As her illness waned, Flanagan slept 10 to 12 hours daily and tried to drink plenty of fluids. U.S. officials flew in a specialist from Sarasota, Fla., to help tend to her. By Wednesday she was feeling better.

"She was able to keep food inside both ways," said Cook, the former coach of George Mason University. "I'm not trying to be salty here, but it wasn't a pretty picture."

Cook complained that five athletes a day became ill during the U.S. team's training camp in Dalian. "I don't want to knock the training camp," he said. "The environment was good, the idea was good, but it just didn't turn out."

Actually, it turned out just fine. Flanagan's husband, Steve Andrews, speculated that the sickness forced Flanagan to get rest that served her well in Friday's race, which was blisteringly fast.

Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba wrestled the gold medal away from Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey, out-sprinting her over the last lap to win in 29:54.66, the second-fastest time ever in the event. Abeylegesse's consolation? She ran the third-fastest time ever, 29:56.34.

Even the fourth-place finisher, whom Flanagan passed late in the race, had something to celebrate. Kenya's Linet Chepkwemoi Masai, who clocked a 30:26.50, earned a world junior record. She is just 18.

Once Flanagan sorted out the details, she savored her bronze medal run. But during the race, Dibaba and Abeylegesse sprinted away so fast at the 8,000-meter mark, the field splintered into pieces. There were no packs of runners, just stray athletes stretched out all over the track.

Goucher, who had showed a brilliant late sprint last year in Osaka, found herself mentally overwhelmed as the gap grew. "My goal was not to let anyone break me until I physically fell apart," he said.

Instead of collapsing, Flanagan imagined herself on a relaxed training run near her home in Chapel Hill, N.C. Then, when she got to the last 400 meters, she said, "I really turned on my competitive juices and let it go."

She wasn't nervous. Andrews speculated that her illness knocked the nerves out, too, distracting her so much with getting healthy that she didn't have the chance to over-think the race.

She wanted it "bad," he said. "It's everyone's dream. People can sugarcoat it and say they're happy to be here, but at the end of the day, it's about getting a medal."