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Kara Goucher

Oregon’s Kara Goucher qualified Wednesday for the finals of the women's 5,000 meter race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Goucher finished with a time of 15:00.98, just behind fellow American Shalane Flanagan. Both advance to the finals of the 5000 meters on Friday. In an earlier heat, American Jennifer Rhines nabbed the final qualifying spot, so all three Americans will be at the start line for the finals.

“My coach told me 15:16 and I knew at 2 miles I was fine,” Goucher said. “The last lap I still felt a little sting of the 10k, I was like ‘I'm through, let's save it for Friday.’”

Goucher won the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, while Flanagan was third at the trials.

Slideshow: Goucher tops at Trials

On the opening day of competition at the Olympics, Flanagan ran a strong final mile in the women's 10,000 meters final to move up from fifth to third place and win the bronze medal. Goucher finished tenth in the 10,000.

More: Olympics News