Lap by lap, the former Provo High School and Brigham Young star fell farther behind the three leaders in the final of the 10,000 meters at legendary Hayward Field. And when he finally committed everything he had to one final, desperate surge in the hope of catching the fading third-place runner for the last spot at the Beijing Games in China, it was too late.

"I should have gone a couple of laps sooner," Rohatinsky said, blood trickling from a spike wound on his shin.

At the time, Rohatinsky feared that going too early would cost him in the end. But waiting as long as he did proved just as costly, as he finished a disappointing fifth in 27 minutes, 54.41 seconds, eight months after finishing ninth in the Olympic marathon trials in New York City.

"It's obviously a little disappointing," he said. "I feel like I definitely had a legitimate shot."

Certainly, he did.

Rohatinsky was among the top eight runners in the field, and he immediately went to the front of the race, knowing he needed to finish in the top three and run at least five seconds faster than his personal best to reach the Olympic "A" qualifying standard. He led the first lap, and remained just off the lead for the first half of the race.

But three-time national champion Abdi Abdirahman began a series of surges that strung out the pack, with only Oregon's Galen Rupp and Jorge Torres closely covering it. Gradually, Rohatinsky fell back, until he was about 50 meters behind with six laps remaining.

That's when he figures he should have started pushing to catch Torres, who was starting to fall off the lead pace.

"Who knows what would have happened if I would have gone?" Rohatinsky said. "But looking back, I kind of wish I would have gone for it a little sooner. . . . I probably couldn't have gone any faster than I did, once I did pick it up. But I feel like I could have held it for longer."

As it was, Abdirahman pushed ahead to win in 27:41.89, while Rupp, the hometown favorite, ran 27:43.11 before donning a "Stop Rupp" shirt that recalled the famous "Stop Pre" shirt that Gerry Lindgren wore before racing the legendary Steve Prefontaine at the 1972 Olympic Trials here.

And though he faded somewhat in the final mile, Torres held on for third in 27:46.33. "I tied up a little bit in the last two laps," he said. "But I think it was just the excitement of knowing I was going to make the team."

Rohatinsky, not so much.

Ogden's Seth Pilkington, neither. The former Roy High and Weber State standout finished 19th in 29:10.33, though like Rohatinsky, he appreciated the experience as a steppingstone on the way to being a more serious contender for the 2012 London Games.

"I felt horrible," Pilkington said. "But it is a fun place to race."

Meanwhile, Layton's James Parker wore his old Team USA shorts, but could not qualify for a second Olympics in the hammer throw. The former Utah State All-American and Northridge High star finished seventh, throwing 229 feet and 7 inches, while Orem's Michelle Turner, the former BYU and Timpanogos High School star who transferred to Washington for her final college season, finished last in her 1,500 semifinal in 4:30.59 and did not advance to the final.

mcl@sltrib.com

U.S. Olympic track and field trials

Today, 3 p.m., Ch. 5

Note: Former BYU runner Josh McAdams competes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final today