DES MOINES, IA—Former Winthrop standout distance runner Matthew Elliott recently finished 4
th at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championship's in the men's 1500-meter.
Elliott made a final lap push to finish with a time of 3:45.85 as he edged out William Leer by a tenth of a second for fourth place. He finished just .16 of a second out of third place, which was captured by Lopez Lomong.
Winthrop head track & field/cross country coach
Ben Paxton is excited for Elliott and not at all surprised with his post-collegiate success. "We are proud of Matt Elliott and his accomplishments," he said. "We knew they were up coming. The seeds he sowed at Winthrop learning to run to the finish line have now carried over to his career."
Of the top four finishers, none currently have the World Championships A or B standard of 3:35.00 and 3:37.00, respectively, to qualify for the IAAF World Track & Field Championships to be held in Moscow, Russia, August 10-18. And only the top four finishers in the final have the opportunity to pursue those marks up until July 20. The IAAF will allow the American team to send a three man 1500-meter squad, but at the minimum, they would individually need to secure two A's and one B mark.
(Information courtesy of Keith Conning & American Distance Project)
