SPORTS
8A — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021
Updike comes up just short of Olympics
Continuing to improve
Former EOU
standout leads on
final lap, settles for
fifth in 3,000
steeplechase
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
EUGENE — With one
lap to go, no one stood
between Isaac Updike and
the fi nish line.
The former Eastern
Oregon University track &
fi eld standout led the fi eld
on the fi nal lap but ulti-
mately fi nished fi fth in the
men’s 3,000-meter steeple-
chase at the U.S. Olympic
Trials in Eugene on Friday,
June 25, 2021. The top three
fi nishers qualifi ed for the
Tokyo Olympics, leaving
Updike just two spots shy
of Olympic glory.
“Regardless of how I
felt, I was going to make
a move with a lap to go,”
Updike said. “Win or lose,
at that point I know that I
did everything I could. It
was one of the hardest races
I’ve done in a while.”
Updike clocked in with
a fi nishing time of 8 min-
utes, 24.72 seconds, while
Hillary Bor won the event
with a time of 8:21.34.
Benard Keter (8:21.81) and
Mason Ferlic (8:22.05)
passed Updike on the fi nal
lap to earn their spots in the
Olympics.
With high temperatures
reaching the mid-90s in
Eugene, the weather pro-
vided a challenge for all the
competitors at the trials.
According to Updike,
the heat was not the biggest
factor. Competing four days
after the prelims put Updike
out of his regular training
schedule, compared to a
normal routine of training
two days after a race or
traveling to the next event
weeks later.
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard
Isaac Updike, center, competes in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase fi nals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene on Friday, June 25, 2021. Despite
recording the fastest time across all competitors in the prelims, Updike came just two positions short of qualifying for the Olympics in Tokyo.
“The warm-up felt a
Mountaineer mentality because of Eastern Oregon,
While Updike came
little more exacerbated than
but I’ve fi nally started to
just short of a ticket to
it should have that day,”
catch up in the fi tness part,”
Updike said. “I knew
from around lap two that
I was in trouble.”
The 29-year-old
stayed with the top pack
throughout the race,
hanging around fourth
place for most of the
competition. Following
lap six, Updike jumped
—I saac Updike, former Eastern Oregon University track &
out to the lead spot and
fi eld standout
led the fi eld heading into
the fi nal lap.
Bor overtook the lead
the Tokyo Olympics, he
Updike said.
early in the fi nal lap, with
improved drastically in
Updike credits his
Keter, Ferlic and Daniel
the 2020 season. Updike
coaching at the collegiate
Michalski overtaking
recorded the fastest time in
level for implementing a
Updike on the fi nal stretch.
the preliminary rounds, and high level of skill in his
“At that point I was in
his 8:17.74 at the USATF
form and racing tactics.
survival mode,” Updike
Grand Prix on Saturday,
The Alaska native holds
said.
April 24, still stands as the
the steeplechase record at
Updike fi nished fi fth
fastest time by an American EOU, as well as the outdoor
with a time that clocked in
in 2021.
record in the 5,000-meter
three seconds slower than
“I’ve always been adept
run and the indoor record
his 8:21.01 fi rst-place fi nish
for the 3,000-meter run.
in the steeplechase prelims. at the hurdling part, partly
“Win or lose, at that point I know
that I did everything I could. It was
one of the hardest races I’ve done in
a while.”
La Grande High School Class of 2021
The
senior parents would like to take a moment
to thank all of the local businesses and individuals
who provided so generously toward this year’s
LHS drug and alcohol-free grad night party.
We had record breaking turnout for this
year’s event which provided our
graduating seniors a safe, fun evening
full of games, prizes, movies, food carts and
even the chance to win a car thanks to the
generosity of Legacy Chrysler Jeep Dodge
Ram of Island City.
Other generous donations were provided by these community-minded,
youth-supporting businesses and individuals:
Island City Speed Lube
Sorbenots
R&C Family Store
Alpine Archery
Starbucks
Ziply Fiber
Tri-County Equipment — John
Deere
Country Financial — Paul
Swigert
Frito Lay
True Value Hardware
Tiger Booster Club
Old West Federal Credit Union
Ace Hardware
Antlers Espresso
Union County Safe
Communities Coalition
RE/MAX Real Estate
Avista Utilities
Becker Construction
CB’s Septic and Portable
Restrooms
La Grande School District
The Observer
B&K Auto Salvage
We Paint La Grande
KIE Supply
Island City Market and Deli
La Grande High School
staff
Marketplace Fresh Foods
Union County Fairgrounds
EOU Athletic Department
and athletes
Steve and Trudy Robinson
Oregon Trail Electric Co-Op
Grande Ronde Hospital
WalMart
Les Schwab
O’Reilly Auto Parts
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Safeway
Pepsi
Taco Feliz Food Truck
Hot Dog Food Truck
Rory Becker — ‘The
Pizza Guy’
THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
THANK YOU!!!
La Grande High School Class of 2021
and their grateful parents and families
Competing in the NAIA
and training at EOU helped
craft Updike’s mentality
toward racing in national
competitions.
“You don’t have the
same resources or funding
that some NCAA schools
do, so you have to get cre-
ative,” Updike said. “It’s
pretty scrappy, it helps
having previously overcome
adversity that the bigger
schools might not have to
deal with.”
Updike’s 8:47 school
record is nearly 13 sec-
onds ahead of the next
best time in the record
book, which was marked
by his brother Lucas
Updike. Since setting that
record in 2015, Updike
has trimmed almost half
a minute off his per-
sonal best and gone from
an elite NAIA colle-
giate runner to one of the
world’s top steeplechasers.
The Olympic Trials in
2021 marked the second
time Updike has competed
for a spot in the Olympics at
Hayward Field, coming in
12th with a time of 8:42.92
in the 2016 trials. Having
trimmed off over 20 sec-
onds since then, Updike
came into the 2021 trials
with a legitimate chance at
a top-three fi nish.
“Just getting there was
the goal in 2016,” Updike
said. “Whereas this year
was a little more real
because I had an honest
shot and should be near the
front.”
For Updike, the journey
to the top tier of steeple-
chase racing in the United
States was no easy path.
While competing for
Empire Elite Track Club
in New York, Updike has
worked side jobs as a phys-
ical education teacher and
as a receptionist. Prior to
those jobs, he worked at
Dick’s Sporting Goods
when he lived in Eugene for
training.
Despite coming into the
fi nals of the 3,000-meter
steeplechase with the top
time in the fi eld, Updike
had no major sponsorships
or endorsements. That all
changed on the day of the
fi nals, when Updike signed
a three-year deal with Nike
that will endure through the
2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Updike will compete
in a number of profes-
sional races in the U.S. and
Europe before preparing for
the 2022 World Champi-
onships in Eugene on July
15, 2022. The COVID-19
pandemic pushed back the
2020 Olympics Trials to
2021, but the next Olym-
pics will still take place in
2024. This presents Updike
and other athletes with a
quicker turnaround to pos-
sibly qualify for the next
Olympics.
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