By Maverick Pallack
Arizona distance runner Bailey Roth’s training partner is no ordinary friend; he is his idol as well. Bernard Lagat is a five-time Olympian and is the American record holder for the 1,500, 3,000 and the 5,000 meters.
“I grew up looking up to him,” Roth said. “I have always studied his form and training. Now to have my dreams come true and to be able to train with him and call him a friend, is just unbelievable.”
Saturday in the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships, Roth used what he learned from his friend and training partner to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes, 39.83 seconds after trailing for most of the race.
Roth used what he calls “the slingshot curve” to take the lead on the last water jump, and take the championship from UCLA runner Austin O’Neil, who finished second in 8:46.78.
O’Neil led for the majority of the race with a “drop the hammer” approach. That plan backfired as he was forced to run solo for the first half of the race with no one to pace. “I wasn’t strong enough to run away from anyone today,” he said. “I thought I’d be able to.”
Roth felt relaxed throughout the race despite trailing. “I felt like taking the race out with two to go,” he said. “My coach is so wise — he knows exactly when it’s time to go. He says when you commit to it, let’s get it, let’s go hard.”
Roth used that patient approach to overtake the overaggressive O’Neil in the final 300. “Until the bell lap, he was leading, which gave me a lot of nerves cause I’m not used to that,” Roth said. “I like to lead; I like to control the race. But I felt like I had it in the bag. My confidence in my kick, so 300 to go, I knew what to do, so I executed perfectly.”
Roth will now look forward to the NCAA West Regional, Friday, May 26, as he anticipates a place in the NCAA Championships and possibly an appearance there by his idol. “Hopefully he’ll be there. That’ll be fun. He’s got a busy schedule, but regardless I know he’ll be with me in spirit.”
