Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan qualified for the final in the women's 5,000 meter race at the Summer Olympics in Beijing yesterday.
Flanagan finished sixth in her preliminary heat at the National Stadium, clocking a 14:59.69. It was her best time of the year in the 5K.
"I always want to make sure I'm in that top six," Flanagan told the USA Track & Field Web site. "I just fought it a little bit harder just to make sure I was in there. You never know what can happen."
Already the owner of a bronze medal at these Games for placing third in last Friday's 10,000 meter final, Flanagan will be looking for some more hardware when she is among 15 runners who will toe the line in Friday's 5K final, to be held at 8:40 p.m. Beijing time (8:40 a.m. EST).
The American record holder in the 5,000 (as well as the 3,000 and 10,000), Flanagan set her best time in the event last year in Walnut, Calif., with a 14:44.80.
Running in the second heat yesterday — by far the faster of the two, as her time would have easily won the first heat — the 27-year-old Flanagan was one of three Americans who qualified for Friday's final. Teammates Kara Goucher (seventh in the second heat, 15:00.98) and Jennifer Rhines (sixth in the first heat, 15:15.12), also qualified.
"How about that? I really like that a lot," Flanagan said of having three Americans in Friday's final. "It has a good ring to it. It just shows how hard we are working. We've got good coaches, a good support system."
Flanagan passed Goucher over the final 200 meters to claim sixth place and the automatic qualifier into Friday's final.
The former Marblehead High and University of North Carolina star ran in the 5,000 meter women's preliminaries four years ago during the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she finished 11th overall.
