For Immediate Release
August 8, 2012
Courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics Communications
Against the world's best, Sanca finishes 21st in heat
The names on the bibs in the 5,000 meters preliminary said it
all: Lagat, Rupp, Farah, Gebremeskal.
UMass Lowell graduate Ruben Sanca
(’09, MBA ’10), representing his native Cape Verde, was
up against the best distance runners in the world when he placed
21st out of as many runners in the 5,000 meters preliminary round
Wednesday morning at the London Olympics.
Sanca posted a time of 14:35.19 while Dejen Gebremeskal of
Ethiopia won the heat as well as the overall preliminary in
13:15.15. Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan won the first section in
13:25.23.
The top five runners in each group, along with those with the top
five times thereafter, advance to the 5,000 meters final Saturday
(2:30 p.m. Eastern Time) at the Olympic Stadium. The aforementioned
runners – Bernard Lagat (13:15.45) and Galen Rupp (13:17.56)
of the U.S., Mo Farah of Great Britain (13:26.00) and Gebremeskal
each sealed their places in the final, as did Lopez Lomong
(13:26.16) of the U.S.
“Ruben is handling it really well,” said head coach
Gary Gardner. “This is not the race
we envisioned. But based on the splits, Ruben would’ve been
in the lead pack in the first heat after 3,000 meters, so there was
some bad luck in the draw.”
Along with the top five qualifiers in each section, the next five
fastest all came from the second heat. After two laps, Sanca
started to fall behind, unable to keep pace with the lead pack.
“Ruben’s section went out fast,” Gardner noted.
“In fact, that was the fastest preliminary in Olympic
history.”
Sanca was also hampered by an injury shortly before departing for
London. Tendonitis in his knee, which also affected his hip, nearly
kept him out of the preliminary. He spent nearly as much time in
physical therapy as he did training after arriving in London. He
was unable to train the week before he and Gardner left for
London.
“Unless he was unable to walk, Ruben would’ve
raced,” Gardner quipped.
Wednesday’s preliminary is a means to another goal:
qualifying for Brazil 2016 in the marathon.
“We’re going to let his injury heal and then put
together a new plan for the next 6-10 months,” Gardner
said.
Sanca was a four-time All-American and a three-time New England
Champion at UMass Lowell from 2005-10. He is currently the business
manager for UMass Lowell’s Office of Student Affairs.
A native of Cape Verde, Sanca immigrated to Boston when he was 12.
He currently lives in Dracut, Mass.
