volunteer coaches Bernard Lagat Kabsabet, Kenya Distance World Champion Olympian Bernard Lagat joined The University of Arizona program as a volunteer coach for the 2009-10 campaign. Lagat is an Olympian <strong>and</strong> World Champion <strong>and</strong> is coached by UA distance coach, James Li. He is one of the great American distance runners <strong>and</strong> can be expected to help work with <strong>and</strong> train the UA’s own distance runners to great success. After winning gold medals at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships, Lagat picked up two more medals when he finished third in the 1,500m <strong>and</strong> second at 5,000 meters at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany. At the 2009 Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York, Lagat tied Eamonn Coghlan’s all-time record of seven victories in the legendary Wanamaker Mile. Lagat’s 2008 season was highlighted by winning the men’s 1,500m <strong>and</strong> 5,000m national titles at the U.S. Olympic Trials for the second time in his career, having first accomplished the feat in 2006. A lingering Achilles injury left him at less than 100% at the Olympics. In the final 100 meters of the men’s 1,500m final at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan, Lagat sprinted cleanly to the front <strong>and</strong> went on to cross the finish line first in 3 minutes 34.77 seconds. It was Team USA’s first ever gold medal in that event at a World Outdoor Championships, <strong>and</strong> the first Olympic or World Championships 1,500m gold medal since 1908, when Hall of Famer Mel Sheppard won the Olympic title. In the Osaka 5,000m final, Lagat became the first man ever to win the 1,500m/5,000m middle-distance double at World Outdoors, <strong>and</strong> the first American to win a World Championship medal of any kind at 5,000m with his winning time of 13:45.87. On February 17 in Birmingham, Lagat broke the American record in the indoor 3,000m, with his time of 7:32.43. He also ran the fastest time in the world indoors 2007 in the mile with his 3:54.26 win at the 100th Millrose Games. Lagat had already piled up a series of wins in 2007, including the AT&T Outdoor Championships (5,000m), Millrose Indoor Games (mile) <strong>and</strong> Birmingham indoor (3,000m). He continued his domination of U.S. middle distance running in 2006 with his wins in the 1,500m <strong>and</strong> 5,000 meters at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis, becoming the first man ever to pull off the historic double. Also in 2006, Lagat posted the five-fastest 1,500m times by an American, <strong>and</strong> the fastest 5,000m time by a U.S. competitor with his win at London in 12:59.22. A U.S. resident since 1996, Lagat is a graduate of Washington State University. IAAF rules state that an athlete changing national affiliation must wait three years since last competing for his native country before competing for a new country. Lagat became eligible to compete for the United States on August 25, 2007, one day after the beginning of the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan. Shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen, Lagat turned his attention towards rewriting the U.S. record books. He set two records from his 3:49.89 indoor mile at the Powered by Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on February 11, 2005 including an official 3:33.34 record for the 1500m set en route to the mile victory. He earned BA’s from Washington State in Management Information Systems, <strong>and</strong> Decision Science (Econometrics). He reached All-American status twice in cross country <strong>and</strong> nine times in track <strong>and</strong> field while wearing a Cougar uniform. As a collegian, Lagat won the mile <strong>and</strong> 3000m races at the 1999 NCAA Indoor Championships, earning the title of NCAA Indoor Male Athlete of the Year. That same year, Lagat won the 5000m race at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He accumulated four Pacific-10 Conference championships <strong>and</strong> was named Men’s <strong>Track</strong> & <strong>Field</strong> Co-Athlete of the Year in 1999. He was Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Male Athlete of the Year on three occasions. Lagat became a father on January 12, 2006 when his wife, Gladys Tom, gave birth to son Miika Kimutai Lagat, Daughter Gianna was born November 2, 2008 Jake Arnold Santa Rosa, Calif. Multi-Events NCAA Champion J ake Arnold joins the coaching cast for the Arizona track <strong>and</strong> field program as a volunteer this year as he continues to train under coach Sheldon Blockburger. Arnold was a decathlete for the Wildcats from 2003-07 <strong>and</strong> won two NCAA National Championships during that span. Since then, Arnold has gone on to compete at U.S. Championships, World Championships <strong>and</strong> The U.S. Olympic Trials in addition to competiting in decathlons across the world. Arnold qualified for his second World Outdoor Championships team with his third-place finish at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships. Also in 2009, Arnold competed at Gotzis <strong>and</strong> finished tenth. Arnold participated in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. where he finished fourth <strong>and</strong> just missed earning a spot in Beijing. He would go on to help lead the United States team to victory in the U.S. v Germany Decathlon where he was the individual runner-up. Arnold remained consistent in 2007 by placing 3rd at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships shortly after claiming the NCAA Outdoor decathlon title, where he posted his personal best score of 8,215 points, outscoring his closest competition by 252. With the win, Arnold becomes just the second athlete in NCAA Division I history to win consecutive titles in the decathlon (George Mason’s Rob Muzzio accomplished the feat in 1984-85). Arnold emerged as a threat in the decathlon as a college junior in 2006 by winning the NCAA Outdoor title <strong>and</strong> placing third at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships. Also during the 2006 indoor season, Arnold placed second in the heptathlon at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships with his score of 5562. An All-American performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships followed when he placed fifth with a school record score of 5,640 points. Arnold had an even more impressive outdoor campaign, winning the Pac-10 decathlon title with a then personal best score of 7,691, <strong>and</strong> was named Pac-10 Athlete of the Week for his efforts. He also scored points for the team in the pole vault <strong>and</strong> 110-meter hurdles, placing sixth <strong>and</strong> eighth respectively. At the West Region Championships, his personal best performance in the vault (5.31m/17-5) earned him a fourth-place finish <strong>and</strong> an automatic invitation to the NCAA Championships. He elected to only compete in the decathlon at the NCAAs, <strong>and</strong> registered a personal best score en route to winning the ten-event competition. His score of 8,215 is No. 1 all-time at the University of Arizona. Arnold was named an honorable mention 2006 Pac-10 All-Academic team selection. As a prep star at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., Arnold was a four year letter winner in track <strong>and</strong> field, where he also earned letters in basketball, soccer <strong>and</strong> football. He owns school records in the 4x400 relay, 300IH, 110HH, Pole Vault, High Jump <strong>and</strong> 4x100 relays. 24 2009-10 Arizona TRACK & FIELD <strong>Media</strong> <strong>Guide</strong>
<strong>Track</strong> & field header Distance Arizona Athletes Throws Jumps <strong>and</strong> multi-events www.arizonaathletics.com Sprints <strong>and</strong> Hurdles 25
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