6/28/08

Fourth place was all he needed, and he had it wrapped up. But here came the Bowerman curve, here came the noise — and here came Andrew Wheating.

Face contorted, he surged to the front, won his 800-meter quarterfinal, pumped his fist three times and floated off the track.

“Fourth is first, but it doesn’t hurt to be No. 1,” the Oregon sophomore said moments later, through a wide grin. “You’ve got to make yourself heard.”