The women's 5K is more wide open. American record-holder Molly Huddle removed doubt about whether she's been hurt by looking fantastic in her heat. (Huddle has been holed up training for two months, uninjured.) In terms of PRs and high-level racing experiences, she's a cut above the rest of the field. The fastest American this year, Julia Lucas, looked good in her qualifying heat, but will need to push for her spot on the team from farther than a lap out, as she can't risk leaving it to a sprint. Lauren Fleshman qualified for the final but almost certainly won't be a factor, as Monday's qualifying round was the longest consecutive run she'd done in the last four injury-plagued months. Dartmouth sophomore and NCAA champion Abbey D'Agostino could add some intrigue, in that she lacks the Olympic "A" standard in the event but has shown great racing chops. If the race is slower than the 15:20 "A" pace, then there's a scenario in which D'Agostino places in the top 3 but one of the many women with the standard places behind her and nonetheless goes to the Olympics. ...
, not on TV, so people should check their local listings (and that link).
