U.S. Olympic trials: Provo's McAdams will be in the chase

EUGENE, Ore. - Josh McAdams checked over one shoulder as he cleared the final hurdle in the men's steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field on Saturday. Moments later, he peeked over the other . . .
    And saw all the way to China.
    Nobody else was threatening the former national champion from Brigham Young, nobody else was coming close. Third place and a trip to the Beijing Olympics was secure, and McAdams was able to soak in the glorious moment at sold-out Hayward Field and add another chapter to the state's storied running history.
    "What a blessing," he said. "I just feel so blessed to be here."
    McAdams finished the 3,000-meter race in 8 minutes, 21.99 seconds, assuring he will join Morgan's Lindsey Anderson as a steeplechaser in Beijing - not far from where McAdams served a two-year mission for the LDS Church in Thailand. It was upon his return that the Ohio native transferred to BYU, ultimately winning college and national titles and joining the long list of elite steeplechasers and distance runners from Utah.
    The modern era of that legacy
   effectively started with Henry Marsh, the former Cougar steepler who qualified for the first of his four Olympic teams in 1976 on the same track that McAdams and Ogden's Michael Spence took Saturday.
    But the 28-year-old McAdams did not exactly mimic Marsh's trademark kick-from-the-back strategy. He started in the middle of the pack, gradually moving up so he could be in prime position to pursue one of the top three spots in the final laps. With about 600 meters to go, he caught second-place Brian Olinger, but just as Colorado's Billy Nelson passed them both.
    "When Billy passed me, I thought, 'Oh, man, the chase pack's coming,' " McAdams said. "And that's when I was like, 'You have to go with Billy if you're going to be there.' "
    And that, he did.
    While veteran Anthony Famiglietti surged to win in 8:20.24, McAdams fought Nelson all the way around the final lap, pulling away from the rest of the field and earning those few moments of wondrous relief down the homestretch. Nelson edged McAdams for second place by barely a half-second, in 8:21.47.
    "Josh ran it to perfection," Spence said, after finishing sixth in 8:35.48 just four months after knee surgery. "I could see him right ahead of me. . . . He ran a really smart race."
    McAdams acknowledged he probably will get scolded by coach Ed Eyestone for checking over his shoulder - the men's cross country at BYU is working the trials as an analyst for NBC - but figured he could handle that with the year he's having.
    Not only has McAdams qualified for the Olympics, but his wife, Whitney, is pregnant with the couple's first child - a girl - and he has been accepted into optometry school in Memphis, where the family will move after the Olympics. Oh, and his parents managed to see the race in person, after buying last-minute airline tickets online and arriving just hours before the race.
    "Fantastic year," he said.
    The only potential fear is that his wife won't be able to travel to Beijing because of her pregnancy. But after hugging her in the stands as he celebrated a satisfying victory lap with a small American flag in his hand, McAdams wasn't about to let anxiety smother his moment.
    He shouted in joy as he entered the post-race interview area, hugging one of the women's shot putters and pumping his fist before dismissing the widely publicized concerns over the pollution and politics involved with the Beijing Games - all with a smile wider than the gap he saw behind him on the track.
    "I'm just thrilled to be going over there," he said.
    mcl@sltrib.com