Lagat an Olympian _ this time for America

By EDDIE PELLS

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — With a high leg kick and his trademark burst, Bernard Lagat has become an expert at putting people away in the last lap of races.

For this race, though, it was getting ready for the first lap that posed the biggest challenge.

He kept telling himself he had to stay focused, not get carried away by what was happening on the track in the moments before the 5,000 meters Monday at the U.S. Olympic trials, where dozens of newly selected Olympians were parading around in their new, blue uniforms.

"I'm watching the entire parade and they're running on the track. I'm telling myself, `I've got to concentrate,'" Lagat said.

He did, and now he's the owner of one of those uniforms, the next step in a dream that began in the sands of his native Kenya and will carry on to Beijing, where he'll be not just an Olympian, but an Olympian for his new country, the United States.

"This is the one thing I've been thinking about," he said. "This is very special."

Lagat an Olympian _ this time for America....