Summer Olympics 2004

Culpepper completes a household double

Shayne Culpepper rallies to win the 5,000, joins husband in Athens.

By JOHN ROMANO
Published July 14, 2004

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - To each household belongs a certain set of chores.

Daily, mundane, gotta-get-it-done type of tasks. The kind of duties allocated and shared by spouses across the nation.

This week, the responsibility fell on Shayne Culpepper.

Your turn to make the Olympic team, honey.

You see, Alan Culpepper had earned his ticket to Athens by winning the Olympic trials marathon in February. That gave Shayne five months to prepare, and sometimes fret, about her spot at 5,000 meters.

"It was the most pressure," she said, "I've ever had coming in."

This was the burden Culpepper carried into the race.

It was also the elation she felt crossing the finish line.

In a race that began early Tuesday morning Eastern time and lasted just over 15 minutes, Culpepper came from behind to beat Marla Runyan by .07 of a second to win the national title and a spot on the Olympic team.

"I'm thrilled to death," Culpepper said. "There was so much riding on this emotionally. Having come in fourth in 2000, which was so disappointing, having the season I've had up to this point, and having Alan already on the team, it put so much pressure on me. It really made it tough."

Watching from their Palm Harbor home, as Monday night gave way to Tuesday morning, were Culpepper's parents, Dean and Susan Wille.

"We were wide awake at 12:25 when it started," Susan Wille said. "I'm happy to say all of our friends and family were still awake, too, because when she won the race, the phone must have rang 100 times."

For Shayne Culpepper, this is her second Olympics. By finishing fourth in 2000, she was the 1,500 meters alternate. She accompanied Alan, who had qualified at 10,000 meters, to Sydney.

Not expecting to compete, she had cut back on training and did not bring her racing shoes to Australia. When Regina Jacobs dropped out of the 1,500, Culpepper suddenly had a spot in the field.

This time, she left nothing to chance.

"She said it was so nice after the race that she was able to go downstairs and into the processing area and know she was going as an Olympian," Wille said. "She's come a long way from 2000. Four years and a million miles."

Along the way, Shayne gave birth to a son, Cruz, in April 2002. The demands of parenthood made training more challenging, but not impossible.

"I don't seem to need as much sleep as Alan, so I usually get up an hour earlier than they do and I get out the door and do my training," said Shayne, who lives in Boulder, Colo. "By the time I get home, they're up and he goes out for his training. On our hard training days, we'll get (her younger sister, Erin) for child care."

Having the trials five months apart for the marathon and the 5,000 meters made the task a little easier. Alan was able to focus more on his event for several months, then Shayne could turn her attention to the 5,000.

Shayne spent most of the race running behind Runyan and Shalane Flanagan before making a move for the lead in the last 50 meters. She caught Runyan, literally, at the finish line at 15:07.41. Runyan came in a 15:07.48.

"I had no idea she was there," Runyan said. "And, honestly, if I did, I don't think I could have done anything about it."

The family affair was completed when Alan and Cruz joined Shayne after she left the medal podium.

"He wrote me a sweet note and left it by my backpack before the race," Shayne said. "Just some words to remind me of what's really important in our lives, like our baby and our love for each other."

[Last modified July 14, 2004, 01:00:43]