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O'Brien Just Misses Qualifying for 1500m Finals at Olympic Trials
Eagle alum edged out of a berth in the finals

Sean O'Brien was in contention for a spot in the finals of the 1500m until the last 100 meters, but he fell short of his goal of making the Olympic team.

July 19, 2004 | Results

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former American University track athlete and current AU assistant coach Sean O’Brien (Tewksbury, Mass./Winnisquam Regional) on Friday was in contention for a spot in the 1500m finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but fell off the pace with about 100 meters to go and failed to move on.

With just a fraction of the race left, O'Brien was squarely in the middle of the lead pack. However, as the pack entered its kick, O'Brien could not maintain the pace and fell off, finishing in 11th with a time of 3:48.31. The top six runners in each of the two heats qualified for the finals. O'Brien's time was just over four seconds behind the sixth-place finisher.

In Sunday's finals, the top three finishers -- Alan Webb (3:36.13), Charlie Gruber (3:38.45) and Rob Myers (3:38.93) -- all made the U.S. Olympic squad.