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From the good folks at the Penn Relays:
Bob Kennedy Returns to Competition at the Penn Relays
Kennedy has been out of the track world for the last two years.
April 18, 2003
Bob Kennedy, the American record-holder for the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 meter races, will return to track competition for the first time in nearly two years, when he competes in the men's Olympic Development 5000-Meter Championship event at the Penn Relays on Thursday night, April 24.
Kennedy, an American Olympian in 1992 and 1996, will be running at Franklin Field for the first time since he won the OD 5000 in 1993, and looks at this race as the first step in his comeback.
"I've been injured a lot for the last year-and-a-half, and I'm getting in shape," Kennedy said. "I'm not there yet, but this is the type of race at a time I wanted on my way back."
Kennedy will wear bib number 1 for the event which he first won at Franklin Field in 1993. That was a year after his 12th-place finish in the 5000 at the Olympic Games of Barcelona. He improved to sixth place at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. His last competitive race was in Oslo at Bislett Stadium in the summer of 2001.
But those are just memories for Kennedy as he takes the first steps of his comeback.
"My first goal is to cover 12 ? laps in a race situation and to remind my body and mind what it takes," he said. "Which won't take long. This is a stepping stone. I'll run a 10K at Stanford 10 days later, then look at the track season, the U.S. Championships and hopefully the World Championships."
Kennedy, a native of Bloomington, Ind., also competed in the Penn Relays as a collegian with Indiana University for four years, from 1989-1992. He was a four-time NCAA champion, and four-time U.S. champion in the 5,000 meters.
His three American records: 3000 meters, 7:30.84 (1998); 5000 meters, 12:58.21 (1996); and, 10,000 meters, 27:38.37 (1999) are still standing.
The men's Olympic Development 5,000 Championship (Event No. 84) is scheduled to begin at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday night, following a full day of college and high school women's events. The Penn Relays will again feature a full night of distance running, with steeplechases (college men and women, OD men and women), 3Ks (college women), 5Ks (college men and women, OD men and women), and 10Ks (college men and women, OD men and women).
ENDS
Bob Kennedy Returns to Competition at the Penn Relays
Kennedy has been out of the track world for the last two years.
April 18, 2003
Bob Kennedy, the American record-holder for the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 meter races, will return to track competition for the first time in nearly two years, when he competes in the men's Olympic Development 5000-Meter Championship event at the Penn Relays on Thursday night, April 24.
Kennedy, an American Olympian in 1992 and 1996, will be running at Franklin Field for the first time since he won the OD 5000 in 1993, and looks at this race as the first step in his comeback.
"I've been injured a lot for the last year-and-a-half, and I'm getting in shape," Kennedy said. "I'm not there yet, but this is the type of race at a time I wanted on my way back."
Kennedy will wear bib number 1 for the event which he first won at Franklin Field in 1993. That was a year after his 12th-place finish in the 5000 at the Olympic Games of Barcelona. He improved to sixth place at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. His last competitive race was in Oslo at Bislett Stadium in the summer of 2001.
But those are just memories for Kennedy as he takes the first steps of his comeback.
"My first goal is to cover 12 ? laps in a race situation and to remind my body and mind what it takes," he said. "Which won't take long. This is a stepping stone. I'll run a 10K at Stanford 10 days later, then look at the track season, the U.S. Championships and hopefully the World Championships."
Kennedy, a native of Bloomington, Ind., also competed in the Penn Relays as a collegian with Indiana University for four years, from 1989-1992. He was a four-time NCAA champion, and four-time U.S. champion in the 5,000 meters.
His three American records: 3000 meters, 7:30.84 (1998); 5000 meters, 12:58.21 (1996); and, 10,000 meters, 27:38.37 (1999) are still standing.
The men's Olympic Development 5,000 Championship (Event No. 84) is scheduled to begin at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday night, following a full day of college and high school women's events. The Penn Relays will again feature a full night of distance running, with steeplechases (college men and women, OD men and women), 3Ks (college women), 5Ks (college men and women, OD men and women), and 10Ks (college men and women, OD men and women).
ENDS
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