EUGENE, Ore. — Following a day of nerves and close calls, Alexa Efraimson of Camas left nothing to chance.
That strategy paid off. She advanced to the women’s 1500-meter final at the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field on Friday.
Staying among the top five runners throughout the race, Efraimson began her finishing kick with 300 meters left in the race.
She stayed with Jenny Simpson and Shannon Rowbury as the three pulled away decisively from the rest of the pack to secure their spots in Sunday’s final. The top five finishers in each of the two semifinal heats advanced, along with the next two fastest finishers.
The 19-year-old Efraimson ran with a calm and control that belied her relative inexperience at the Trials.
Afterward, she was all smiles and bubbling with joy.
“I felt really strong throughout the race,” she said.
Just the day before in a first-round heat, Efraimson tangled with another runner in a crowded pack and fell with 350 meters to go. She recovered and advanced to Friday’s race.
It rained on Friday, quite heavily at times, which left the track wet and treacherous.
This time, however, Efraimson made sure there would be no repeat of a mishap.
When the last lap began, she said, “That’s where I wanted to go. And then I just wanted to stay out of trouble.”
She covered the last lap in 62.05 seconds, finishing with a final time of 4:10.49.
Efraimson was behind only Simpson (4:10.09) and Rowbury (4:10.24). Those would stand as the three fastest times from the two semifinal heats.
Asked what it felt like to compete in the same heat as Simpson, a former World Champion in the 1500 meters, and Rowbury, the American record holder at the distance, Efraimson said, “I just tried to stay calm and run my race.”
So was this was her best race ever? “I’ve been in some big races, but this one is definitely up there,” she said with a smile.
Sunday, Efraimson will race again with the best female 1500-meter runners in the country. Three of those runners will make the U.S. Olympic team.
