EUGENE, Ore. — Natosha Rogers of Texas A&M slogged through a rain-soaked 10,000 meters and wound up second.
But the race of her life won't get her to the Olympics.
Janet Bawcom struggled to catch her breath because of an upper respiratory ailment, and crossed the finish line in seventh place.
She, however, will be going to London.
Because Rogers doesn't have the "A'' standard, she's not eligible to go to the Olympics. Bawcom does meet the criteria and earned a spot.
"It's a terrible way to get on the team, but that's the way I got in," Bawcom said. "I'm so excited."
Bawcom wasn't the only runner to benefit on this rainy Friday night.
Shalane Flanagan finished in third place, more than a second behind Amy Hastings' winning time of 31 minutes, 58.36 seconds. But since Flanagan plans to run in the marathon at the London Games, she will gladly surrender her spot in the 10,000 to fourth-place finisher, Lisa Uhl, who trains with Flanagan.
The only reason Flanagan even ran in this race was to help pace Uhl.
"I'm speechless," Uhl said. "I'm excited. I really wish I could've been top three. It was an ugly way to make the Olympic team, but I'm so excited to be going to London."
Same with Hastings, who just narrowly missed grabbing the final spot at the marathon trials six months ago in Houston.
"It was heartbreaking in Houston," Hastings said. "(This is) way different. Makes it sweeter, though.
"We're going to London. That's awesome and crazy and ridiculous."
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