Michigan’s Ben Flanagan uses a strong kick to pull upset in 10,000 meters

By Allan Johnstone

In the one of the biggest shockers of the opening day, Michigan’s Ben Flanagan outkicked Vincent Kiprop in the final 100 meters of the men’s 10,000-meter race to win his first NCAA championship with a time of 28 minutes, 34.53 seconds, a personal record and .46 ahead of Kiprop, one of the favorites.

The biggest question going into the race was whether an American runner could break the streak of international runners who had won the event for the past nine years. The favorites included Northern Arizona teammates Tyler Day, an American; Matthew Baxter, from New Zealand; and Kiprop, a Kenyan who competes for Alabama.

No one expected the Michigan senior to be in the conversation. But Flanagan, a Canadian from Ottawa, was the ninth international runner to stand atop the podium in the 10,000. The last American to do it was Galen Rupp back in 2009.

The race started with the trio from Alabama taking a dominant lead.

“Sometimes you got to go and feel yourself,” said Kiprop. “I didn’t know I was going that fast.”

But by the fifth lap, the Alabama runners’ lead had disappeared, and Day and Baxter were at the front with the rest of the pack close behind. Flanagan was in the middle of the pack.

“I tried to stay comfortable,” he said. “I knew running up front is tough for a whole 10K. I told myself if I feel relatively comfortable, I know that in the last 400 I’d have more steam than those guys.

“I told myself if you were in top three, don’t get too excited about that,” Flanagan added. “If you are in contention, for the win, go for that. This is your last chance to be a national champion.”

In the last 400 meters of the race, Flanagan was right where he wanted to be.

Kiprop put up about a five-meter gap, but then out of nowhere Flanagan appeared.

“That’s when it snapped in,” Flanagan said. “I started flailing and luckily, I carried the momentum forward instead of sideways. When I got a meter, I started freaking out.”

Flanagan plans to finish his masters in Ann Arbor while also pursuing professional running.

“I knew what to expect,” he said. “I felt like I belonged.”

Allan Johnstone

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