Concordia junior Chris Tegtmeier (Fairbury, Neb.) was disqualified as he neared the midway point of the 20-kilometer men's race walk final July 5 at the 2008 United States track and field team trials being held in Eugene, Ore. Tegtmeier, was trying to keep pace with the leaders and at one point held the lead before being disqualified. Kevin Eastler went on to win the race with a time of 1:27:07.1 to earn a trip to the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing, China.
"He (Tegtmeier) has had a long year and this has been a tremendous learning experience for him," said Concordia University head coach Dr. Kregg Einspahr. "He has a lot of great experiences ahead of him in athletics and we can hope that this Olympic Trials experience is just the start of many good things to come for him."
Tegtmeier, the reigning indoor NAIA race walk national champion, qualified for the trials with a time of 1:34:46.20. His time earned him the No. 12 seed in a field of 16.
"The atmosphere at the Olympic Trials is like no other track meet in the world," said Einspahr. "In some ways there is a sense of more pressure and excitement than even the Olympic Games themselves."
The trials are held at the University of Oregon's fabled Hayward Stadium in Eugene. Eugene bills itself as "Track Town USA" and has hosted some of the greatest moments in U.S. track and field history at Hayward Stadium.
See also: U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field / Olympics: Athlete didn't walk away from 'goofy' sport, by Marjie Ducey in the Omaha World Herald, July 5