Racewalker Kevin Eastler is just a quick stroll away from competing in the Summer Olympics. All the talented athlete from Farmington must do is finish in the U.S. Olympic Trials with a decent time in July and he will be on a plane to Athens in August.

It is mandatory for Eastler and two other racewalkers, Tim Seaman and John Nunn, to perform in the trials in Sacramento even though they have all made the A standard in the sport. That A rating just about guarantees the three Americans a trip overseas as members of the American 20-kilometer racewalking team.

It is highly unlikely there is another competitor capable of displacing one of the top three walkers in the trials.

“Interestingly enough, the only U.S. athlete that has even a slight chance of walking an A standard at the trials is none other than Ben Shorey from Ellsworth,” Tom Eastler, Kevin’s dedicated dad, said in an e-mail.

While the trials are still an important “formality” to all U.S. athletes, Kevin Eastler is looking beyond July even though there are no promises when it comes to making the Olympics. He understands a setback like an injury could keep him stateside in August.

“Right now the goal is Athens, not the time trials,” said Kevin Eastler, a 26-year-old captain in the United States Air Force. “There is going to be pressure no matter what, but there won’t be that do-or-die feel.

“I am still trying to be a little cautious and not count my chickens before they hatch.”

Reasonable expectations

The soft-spoken Air Force Academy graduate, who has racewalked since he was nine-years-old, believes he can pull off a top-20 finish in the Olympic event that has been dominated by at least a half-dozen countries over the years.

“I’ve had breaks here and there,” said the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Kevin Eastler. “When I went to the academy, I took three years off.”

Racewalking took a backseat when Eastler decided to concentrate on academics as well as compete on the academy’s cross-country ski team.

“I just want to go there and do a solid performance,” the 1995 Mt. Blue graduate said. “Obviously, there is the excitement of it. But I really don’t think about the extra stuff. At times, it didn’t seem realistic. It didn’t become attainable until 1999 when I started training again.”

After graduating from the academy, the missile combat commander returned to the sport where form and concentration are prerequisites for success. Apparently, the long respite had a positive effect on the determined athlete’s performance.

In 2003, he finished 18th in the World Outdoor Championships, tying the best finish by U.S. walker in the event with a time of one hour, 22 minutes, 25 seconds. Winning that competition helped open the door to the Summer Olympics.

“He’s very focused and low-keyed,” said Eastler’s personal coach and four-time Olympian Carl Schueler. “He’s quite talented. He’s surprised me. He has walked 1:22 and hasn’t peaked, yet. The fact that we had three people make it is a surprise.”

When it comes to training, Eastler says he’ll be doing the “same things that got him to this level.”

“He does most of it (training) on his own,” said Schueler. “I just give him the workouts.”

Tom Eastler says his son knows how to “train smart and race smart.”

“He knows his heart rate,” said Tom Eastler, a University of Maine at Farmington geology professor who has single-handily revived the event in Maine. “He knows what his body is doing and he races accordingly.

“He told us years ago he was going to do it (qualify for the Olympics) and by golly, he did it.”

While the summer heat in Athens might slow down some athletes on the 12.4-mile course, Kevin Eastler shouldn’t lose a step in the searing sun.

“He’s a great performer in the hot weather,” said Schueler. “I don’t think it hurts him.”

Not interested

When it comes to track and field competitions in the U.S., racewalking isn’t the first event that comes to mind. That explains why nations like Ecuador, Mexico, China, Russia and Poland continue to have free reign in the Olympic sport.

“Racewalking is an eclectic sport,” said Schueler. “We don’t have a feeder system (in the U.S.)”

Schueler and Tom Eastler both agree that there are too few high school and college programs for racewalking, but something is being done about that in Maine.

“We are seeing that the Maine program is a feeder team to the Olympic program,” said a proud Tom Eastler.

The odds-on favorite in Athens is Ecuador’s Jefferson Perez, who has certainly earned Kevin Eastler’s respect.

“His (Jefferson) body is just built for racewalking,” said Kevin Eastler. “It’s hard to beat those guys. They take it more seriously in those countries. We are still developing our depth. There’s a lot of potential coming out of Maine.”

Safety first

The pressure to compete in the Olympics is tough enough without having to worry about the threat of terrorism, but 9-11 and the ongoing conflict in Iraq means the city of Athens will be on its toes.

Discussing terrorism, however, is a topic of taboo in the Eastler household.

“We don’t give it any thought to it,” said Tom Eastler, who will also be traveling to Athens with his wife, Susan, to cheer on their son. “We don’t bring it up with Kevin. Whatever will be, will be. We don’t event talk about it.”

“It’s not something I worry about,” said Kevin Eastler. “It’s something you can’t control.”

Just say no

With Tim Montgomery and Michelle Collins facing lifetime bans by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, that controversy has certainly not escaped the attention of the Eastlers or Schueler.

“Kevin has been tested a gazillion times,” said Tom Eastler.

“I think all true athletes hope for a perfect system where an athlete is caught and taken out,” said Kevin Eastler. “It’s sad to even think about that person. It makes me compete harder.”

Schueler also believes the doping furor makes an honest athlete think twice about the guy or gal competing next to them.

“I have to think that (doping) has to have a physiological effect on you,” said Schueler. “As an athlete you don’t know who and who isn’t doping.”

Laying low

At this point, an anxious Kevin Eastler goes through his training routine at his home in Colorado, knowing the splendor of the Olympics is just a month away.

“My biggest competitor is myself,” said Kevin Eastler. “I have to stay healthy and finish the race.”