Brannen Competes in 1,500 at Grand Prix Zagreb Meet
6/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
ZAGREB, Croatia -- Junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) of the University of Michigan men's track and field team kicked off his European racing tour Tuesday (June 28) with a solid 1,500-meter performance at the IAAF Grand Prix Zagreb 2004.
Brannen clocked a time of 3:39.90 -- the second-fastest 1,500-meter time of his career -- to claim 11th place among the 16-man international field. The event did not run as quickly as expected, and only race-winner Tarek Boukensa of Algeria achieved the Olympic 'A' qualfiying time of 3:36.20. With his performance, Brannen was 3.70 seconds shy of the necessary mark.
As the gun went off to start the race, Brannen was immediately pushed to the rear of the field, and with excessive contact and shoving among the pack through the first 200 meters, the Wolverine had difficulty gaining ground. The rabbit led the field through a slow 1:56 pace through the 800-meter mark, allowing the field to stay clumped together in a tight pack and making it difficult to pass. Brannen began to move in the last 200 meters and cut to the outside lane, getting around a couple competitors down the final stretch.
Brannen will return to the 800-meter event and look for his Olympic qualifying times on Friday (July 2) when he will compete in the 'B' race at the prestigious Golden Gala in Rome, Italy.
Michigan Results
1,500-meter Run 1. Tarek Boukensa, Algeria 3:35.77 2. Kama Boulahfane, Algeria 3:36.76 3. Wolfram Mller, Germany 3:37.27 4. Santos de Souza Hudson, Brazil 3:37.71 5. Manuel Damio, Portugal 3:37.93 6. Jason Lunn, USA 3:38.39 7. Mohamed Khaldi, Algeria 3:39.67 8. Gareth Turnbull, Ireland 3:39.84 9. Daniel Spitzl, Austria 3:39.92 10. Branko Zorko, Croatia 3:39.94 11. Nate Brannen, Canada 3:39.96 12. Pedro Antonio Esteso, Spain 3:40.25 13. Lus Feiteira, Portugal 3:42.05 14. Kiptum Bernard Kiptanui, Kenya 3:44.12 15. Adrian Blincoe, New Zealand 3:47.02 -- Bett Charles Kiplangat, Kenya DNF -- Alastair Stevenson, Australia DNS
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
