PALO ALTO, Calif. – Kevin Eastler is headed for the racewalking world championships, and the 2004 Olympics.
Eastler, a former Farmington resident and Mt. Blue standout, captured his first major open national championship and became the sole male 20 km World Championships at the USATF National Track and Field Championships last week.
Eastler pulled away from defending champion and heavily-favored Olympian Tim Seaman to win in 1:23:52.20, 7.8 seconds ahead of Seaman.
In doing so, Eastler also became the only American race walker so far to qualify for the Olympic “B” standard for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
His time places him as the fourth fastest 20 km racewalker in U.S. history. The 26-year-old Eastler, an Air Force captain, had the second fastest time going into the race, just seconds behind Seaman.
“I’m surprised that I beat Tim,” Eastler said. “He’s such a strong competitor, but I’m happy that all that hard work paid off.”
The World Championships will be held in Paris on Aug. 23.
Ben Shorey d the race for the first 15 laps. Shorey, currently a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, was a state track and field champion at Ellsworth. He finished sixth.
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