As far as Bob Kennedy was concerned, his record had lasted too long anyway. While track and field can sometimes suffer from too much emphasis on times and not enough on competition, Dathan Ritzenhein's time Friday represented a landmark achievement.Ritzenhein finished third in the 5,000 meters at Zurich, Switzerland, in 12 minutes, 56.27 seconds. That broke the American record of 12:58.21 set by Kennedy, also at Zurich, on Aug. 14, 1996.
Given that Ritzenhein is a marathoner and his previous best was 13:16.06, the time was a shock. However, he underscored the fact that American distance runners have not surrendered.
"This is a huge shot to prove you don't have to be East African to be a great distance runner," Alberto Salazar told USA Today.
After a disappointing finish April 26 at the London Marathon -- he was 11th in 2 hours, 10 minutes -- Ritzenhein left former coach Brad Hudson and began training under Salazar in Portland, Ore.
Ritzenhein came off a personal best of 27:22.8 at 10,000 meters, finishing sixth at the World Championships. His first sub-28-minute time came in 2004, when he clocked 27:38.50 in finishing right behind Kennedy's 27:37.45.
Ritzenhein, a native of Rockford, Mich., and Kennedy, who went to high school in Ohio and lives in Indianapolis, are Midwesterners. Ritzenhein said when he began running, he idolized Kennedy, who was sixth at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Former IU star Kennedy congratulated Ritzenhein via phone Friday and again Tuesday during a teleconference. It was time for the record to be broken, Kennedy said.
"If you're not breaking American records more frequently than that, then you're not progressing as a nation in that sport," Kennedy said. "It's time to move on and get better."
Kennedy conceded he doesn't follow the sport as closely as he once did. Coincidentally, his wife, Melina, filed paperwork for a possible 2011 mayoral run on Friday, the same day his record fell.
"The closing of one chapter and the opening of another," Kennedy said.
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