July 3, 2008

EUGENE, Ore. - Air Force volunteer cross country coach Lopez Lomong clocked a time of 3:43.38 to finish second in the 1500-meter run during the quarterfinal round of action at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Lopez, who won the second heat, automatically qualified for a spot in the semifinal round. It is the first of three races to determine the Olympic Team in that event.

Alan Webb won the quarterfinal with a time of 3:41.27, while Lomong and Gabriel Jennings finished second (3:43.38) and third (3:44.39), respectively. In all, 30 runners participated in the 1500-meter quarterfinal.

This is the second race of the Olympic Trials for Lomong, who placed fifth in the 800-meter run earlier in the week. With a personal-best time of 1:45.58, he was just 11-hundredths of a second out of the top three.

"It felt great today out there today," Lomong said following the race. "We'll just see how it goes tomorrow."

Lomong returns to the track at Hayward Field tomorrow (Friday, July 4) for the 1500-meter semifinals. The 24-runner race is slated to begin at 8:05 p.m. (PST).