Galen Rupp: Can He Challenge the Africans?

A rite of passage was celebrated at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field last week.

At the moment Oregon's Galen Rupp crossed the finish line in the 10,000 meters, he stepped into the next phase of his already brilliant career.

As if to say both "Thank you" and "Goodbye", he lifted the prominent "O" on his yellow jersey and kissed it.

Winning his final race in the Oregon green and yellow, before a huge home crowd, was the perfect sendoff into the vast and challenging world of professional/international running.

Only hours after winning the USA Track and Field 10k championship, Rupp hired an agent to help guide him through the jungle that is professional sports.

That agent is none other than the golden-spiked Michael Johnson, reigning world record holder in the 400 meters. With the legendary runner Alberto Salazar as his trainer, and now Johnson as agent, Rupp appears to be in good hands.

And it doesn't hurt that Nike's Phil Knight is in his corner...

With seven national titles under his belt this year alone, Rupp has been hyped as the next Steve Prefontaine. Though he shuns the hype, Rupp will certainly be tested in the next big meet of the summer, the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, starting August 15.

There, the Huck Finn-ish Galen Rupp will come face-to-face with the dominance of the African runners of Ethiopia and Kenya.

Pure dominance...as in typically running the 10k a full 30 seconds faster than Rupp's personal best (27:33.48). Kenya's Josephat Muchiri Ndambiri has 2009's best time of 26:57.36.

The world record is 26:17.53 by Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele.

Rupp has developed a strong final kick, which is a hallmark of today's African runners. He is also headed to the mountains - for some high altitude training as he prepares for the Worlds.

It is not with fear and trembling, but respect, that Rupp faces his new frontier:

"I'm excited about Berlin. I want to stick my nose in there and try to kick with the Africans. That's what it's all about."

quote credit:  Doug Binder, The Oregonian