[an error occurred while processing this directive]

RunMichigan's Interview with Kevin Sullivan

August 24th, 2000

Ann Arbor, Michigan - Ann Arbor's Kevin Sullivan qualified for the the 2000 Olympic Games August 12th at the Canadian Track & Field Championships in Victoria, British Columbia. Kevin won the Men's 1500 Meter race which automatically qualified him, since he has already made the 'A' Standard time. RunMichigan was able to talk with Kevin Sullivan about the Canadian Championships and his preparations for the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.



RunMichigan: - How does it feel to be the Canadian 1500 Meter Champion and a member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic Team?

Kevin: It feels great to be the Canadian champion this year since I haven't won our national championships since 1995. Making the Olympic team was more of a relief than a huge emotional victory. I had pretty much known for the last year that as long as I stayed healthy and didn't make any dumb mistakes at the trials that I would be on my way to Sydney.


RunMichigan: - What was your goal going into the 2000 Canadian Track & Field Championships?

Kevin: Make the team. That was my only concern, which for me meant finishing anywhere in the top four.


RunMichigan: - Did you think going into the race that you could win with a 3:46 or did you think you would have to run faster?

Kevin: Without Graham Hood (3:34 last year, 3:33.94 PR) in the race due to injury I was ranked number one in the country by 10 seconds so I was not anticipating a fast race unless someone decided to make an attempt at the Olympic standard which would have been fairly ambitious for most of the guys in the field.


RunMichigan: - Can you describe how the 1500 meter finals unfolded?

Kevin: The pace actually started out solid. We were 43 seconds at 300m but then the leaders slowed down and ran 17 sec for the next 100m (60 seconds at 400m). The pace continued to slow on the second lap to 66 seconds (2:06 at 800m). I moved to the shoulders of the leaders and went to the front at 500m to go. I hit the bell at 2:53.5 and 1200m at 3:06. Then I just powered down the backstretch and accelerated coming of the last bend to close in 53.0 for my last 400m.


RunMichigan: - What did you do different in 2000 to prepare yourself for the Championships?

Kevin: I really didn't do anything different. The only major differece was that I headed out to the trials about a week ahead of time where normally I only come in the day or two before. Without Hood contesting the championships I really didn't do any kind of taper and pretty much trained through the trials.


RunMichigan: Now that you are a member of the Canadian Olympic Team, what are the most important things you need to do before you take off for Australia?

Kevin: I just need to stay healthy and remain consistent in my daily schedule and training. The last thing I want to do now is make any drastic changes to a program that is obviously working very well.


RunMichigan: What type of training will you do once you get to the Canadian Training camp in Austalia?

Kevin: I will get to Australia on Sept 1, and much of my training will become more speed oriented 800m type workouts with a few 1500m pace workouts thrown in there to mix things up. I also plan on running two races while I am there, one on Sept 10, and the other on Sept. 17. I will probably run one 800m and one 1500m, with the possibility of adding one more off distance (800m or 1000m) race at a twilight meet if I feel I need it.


RunMichigan: Have any of the Olympic tune-up meets been setup yet in Australia?

Kevin: As I stated above there are the meets on Sept 10 and Sept 17 that I plan on running in and there are also a number of twilight meets in the area of our training camp (Couran Cove, near Brisbane).


RunMichigan: What will your racing schedule be for the Olympics?

Kevin: Heats are Sept 25, Semifinals are Sept 27 and the Final is Sept 29.


RunMichigan: How fast do you feel you will have to run in the 1st round and Semi-finals to reach the finals?

Kevin: It's very hard to tell how any race is going to go at a major championships. The race could be anywheres from 3:33 to 3:46.


RunMichigan: What do you feel will be your greatest challenge at the Olympics?

Kevin: The biggest challenge for me will probably be remembering to treat every single race like it is the final. I really feel this is one of the keys to getting through the qualifying rounds.

-- end --

 			Canadian Track & Field Championships 2000
            Centennial Stadium, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
            
                                    Event 8 Men's 1,500 Meter Run

            * Cdn Champ Recor: 3:38.06 JOHN CRAIG   SHERBROOKE  1979
            %           World: 3:26.00 HICHAM EL GUERROUJ   MAR 1998
            $         Olympic: 3:32.53 SEBASTIAN COE   GBR      1984
            @ Cdn Outdoor Rec: 3:31.71 KEVIN SULLIVAN    ROME   2000

                    Preliminaries - Results  - Friday 08/11/00
               12 Advance: Top 4 Each Heat Plus Next 4 Best Times

    PLACE ATHLETE NAME                 TEAM                      TIME      HT
    ===== ============================ ========================= ========= ==
        1 Sullivan, Kevin              ON  WINDSOR LEGION TC     3:48.72    1
        2 Benghezal, Sami              AB  REGINA-MUNDI          3:50.14    2
        3 Klassen, Allan               BC  KAJAKS TFC            3:49.37    1
        4 Krama, Ahmed                 BC  KAJAKS TFC            3:50.39    2
        5 Hayden, Ryan                 BC  KAJAKS TFC            3:49.46    1
        6 Tremain, Rich                ON  WINDSOR LEGION TC     3:50.47    2
        7 Bima, Tom                    MB  ECHO ATHLETICS        3:49.93    1
        8 Brannen, Nathan              ON  TRI-CITY TRACK CLUB   3:50.75    2
        9 Alkin, Wes                   ON  TRI-CITY TRACK CLUB   3:50.22    1
       10 Marcotte, Francois           PQ  C.A. SHERBROOKE       3:50.43    1
       11 Bakal, Chris                 ON  UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO 3:51.11    2
       11 MACDONALD, Scott             ON  OTTAWA LIONS TFC      3:51.11    2
       13 Babiuk, Craig                BC  ISLAND PACIFIC RACING 3:53.15    1
       14 Sexton, Scott                BC  COMOX VALLEY COUGARS  3:53.95    1
       15 Cardle, Peter                BC  VALLEY ROYALS TFC     3:54.26    2
       16 Dejongh, Simon               Unattached                3:55.59    1
       17 Luckhurst, Jonathan          AB  EDMONTON THUNDER      3:55.60    2
       18 Blanchard, James             NS  HALIFAX WANDERERS TFC 3:57.25    1
       19 Debardi, Stephen             PQ  MONTREAL OLYMPIQUE    4:07.83    2
        - Berard, Darcy                AB  CAPITAL CITY TRACK CL     DNF    1

                      Finals - Results  - Saturday 08/12/00

     PLACE ATHLETE NAME                 TEAM                      TIME
     ===== ============================ ========================= =========
         1 Sullivan, Kevin              ON  WINDSOR LEGION TC     3:46.59
         2 Tremain, Rich                ON  WINDSOR LEGION TC     3:47.59
         3 Hayden, Ryan                 BC  KAJAKS TFC            3:49.16
         4 Brannen, Nathan              ON  TRI-CITY TRACK CLUB   3:49.28
         5 MACDONALD, Scott             ON  OTTAWA LIONS TFC      3:49.61
         6 Bima, Tom                    MB  ECHO ATHLETICS        3:51.21
         7 Benghezal, Sami              AB  REGINA-MUNDI          3:51.29
         8 Bakal, Chris                 ON  UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO 3:51.42
         9 Klassen, Allan               BC  KAJAKS TFC            3:51.82
        10 Marcotte, Francois           PQ  C.A. SHERBROOKE       3:52.25
        11 Alkin, Wes                   ON  TRI-CITY TRACK CLUB   3:53.90