WHEATING LOOKS FORWARD TO 800M OPENER
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

EUGENE (04-Jun) -- Olympian Andrew Wheating could have run in either the Bowerman Mile or the 800m at today's Prefontaine Classic here, part of the Samsung Diamond League, but coach Vin Lananna decided that the two-lap event was the better move.

"Yes, it is official, it is official," a smiling Wheating told reporters here yesterday at a news conference.  "Vin likes to keep things under wraps, so we've kind of been talking for a while.  We finally decided that, in the long run, the 800 makes more sense."

Wheating, 23, who lives here in Eugene and starred for the University Oregon Ducks, could just have easily run the mile.  At last year's Pre Classic, his final competition before signing a sponsorship agreement with Nike, he clocked a personal best 3:51.74 good for fifth place.  In the 800m, the event in which he competed in the 2008 Olympic Games, he has a best time of 1:44.56.

For today's race, Wheating said it's his primary goal to be competitive, regardless of the finish time.

"I mean, I've said it a million, a million and one times, all I want to do is win," he declared.  "I don't care if it's a 1:48 race or a 1:42 race, I'm purely focused on just trying to win."