It was back in the black-and-white TV days, when Olympic results still were shown on newsreels in movie theaters ("Don Schollander: The Boy Who Swims Like a Fish") and the Americans figured they had a chance to win any track race at the Games. Bob Schul and Bill Dellinger collected gold and bronze, respectively, in the 5,000 meters in Tokyo and Billy Mills took the 10,000, but it's never been anywhere near as good since. Until maybe now.
For the first time since 1964, the United States could pick up a men's distance medal (as opposed to a marathon medal) in Beijing this summer. Bernard Lagat's 1,500-5,000 double at last year's world championships made history, but what was most startling was his 5,000.
No Yank had even made the podium in that event at a global meet, yet the US came within a shoelace of making it two in Osaka, with Matt Tegenkamp missing a bronze by three-100ths of a second. "If I had another half-step, I would have had it," said Tegenkamp, who outkicked Chris Solinsky and Brookline native Jonathon Riley in a leisurely 8 minutes 2.52 seconds to retain his national 3,000-meter indoor title yesterday evening at the Reggie Lewis Center.
The distance renaissance has been under way for a while now, but it's been most obvious at 26 miles, where Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor both earned Olympic medals in Athens. The track results have been more recent, but they're no less notable. Besides Lagat's gold in the 5,000, Kara Goucher's bronze in the 10,000 was the first by an American woman. "We're definitely making the right progress in this country," Tegenkamp said. "It's not just one or two people."
Three years ago at the world meet in Helsinki, no US males qualified for the 5,000 final. Last year for the first time, all three did - and the Kenyans didn't. In Helsinki, the top American finisher in the 10,000 was 13th. In Osaka, Abdi Abdirahman, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Galen Rupp all were among the top 11. Last year, Goucher, Kastor, and Jen Rhines ranked among the global top 10 in the 10,000.
"It's contagious," said Tegenkamp, who's ranked 10th in the world in the 5,000. "You don't put up any barriers. Anything's possible."
The secret to the renaissance has been a cadre of renaissance runners who compete on the spectrum of road, track, and dirt - cross-country, 5,000, 10,000, half-marathon, marathon. Kastor may be the American record-holder in the marathon, but her first love is cross-country. Ritzenhein ran the 10,000 in Athens, then made the marathon team for Beijing. Last weekend, he won the US cross-country title. Ryan Hall, the fastest US-born marathoner, began as a high school miler. Tegenkamp originally made his name as a cross-country runner.
What's remarkable is how quickly the Americans have cracked the top international tier and how many were born in the States. Until recently, the top distance men came here from Africa. Lagat was born in Kenya. Khalid Khannouchi, still the US marathon record-holder, was a Moroccan. Keflezighi was born in Eritrea, Abdirahman in Somalia.
Tegenkamp comes from Missouri and went to Wisconsin. Hall is a Californian who attended Stanford, Ritzenhein a Michigander who went to Colorado. They hit the scene after the 2000 Olympics and are just coming into their prime. Hall and Ritzenhein already earned their Beijing tickets at the marathon trials in November. If Tegenkamp stays on track in the 5,000, he's likely to join them.
His fourth-place effort at Osaka was a revelation, particularly for him. "I never really shied away from the competition, but there's a difference between thinking it and actually doing it," he said. "Last year was a big breakthrough for me in terms of finishing with the top runners of the world, literally finishing with them over the final 200 meters."
Until he checked the scoreboard, Tegenkamp thought he'd snagged the bronze. Going through the exit tunnel he was disappointed, he said, until he realized what he'd accomplished. In Athens, no American placed in the top 10 in the 5,000.
For most Games, the US has trouble qualifying three entries in the distance races. That won't be a problem this time, since 12 men already have reached the "A" time standard in both the 5,000 and 10,000. Time was when having the "A" standard was more important than finishing in the top three at the trials. No more. "It's getting harder to make those teams now," said Tegenkamp.
"When I competed in the 2000 trials, the 'A' standard for the Olympics was 13:29," said Riley, who raced in the 5,000 in Athens. "A 13:29 now, that'll get you into the trials. The depth in our event is just extraordinary."
These days, making a US distance team makes you a contender. On the right day, for the right guy, there's a medal within reach. In Beijing, it certainly won't be double gold as it was in Tokyo, when the altitude-born Africans had not yet arrived in force. But the Americans likely will put all of their competitors into both finals, which is a welcome novelty. These days, Uncle Sam goes the route.
John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.
