Making it to the Olympics just once, for any athlete, can be the accomplishment of a lifetime. Liverpool native Jen Rhines has done much better, though.
For the third time, Rhines will be on the world stage, thanks to her performance in last Friday?s 5,000-meter run at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.
It started in the semifinals on July 1, where Rhines comfortably qualified with a third-place time of 15 minutes, 32.31 seconds.
Then, on Indpendence Day, Rhines nearly won the 5,000 final. Her time of 15:02.02 was exactly one second behind Kara Goucher (15:01.02), meaning a runner-up finish and a trip to Beijing next month.
A 1992 graduate of Liverpool High School who currently resides in California, Rhines first made the Olympics in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, where she competed in the 10,000-meter run. Four years later, in Athens, Greece, Rhines ran in the marathon and finished 34th in a time of two hours, 43 minutes and 52 seconds.
Rhimes is one of two former Section III track athletes going to the Olympics.
Tully High School graduate Lopez Lomong qualified by finishing third in the men?s 1,500-meter run on Sunday night in Eugene.
