Manzano earns silver in 1500 at Olympics

Aug. 7, 2012

Longhorns in London

LONDON -- Former Texas Longhorn Leo Manzano etched his name into both the Olympic and school record book with his scintillating kick around the last turn in Tuesday's 1500-meter finals.

Manzano came from the middle of the pack over the last 100 meters to finish second in 3:34.79, becoming the first American to medal in the 1500 at the Olympics since Jim Ryun in the 1968 Mexico City games.

"I'm really excited, so thrilled and so pumped," Manzano said. "It was an insane race. It was probably the toughest race physically and mentally that I've ever been in."

Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria captured the gold medal in 3:34.08. Makhloufi was reinstated to the 1500 finals Monday after being disqualified from the games after track and field officials ruled he didn't try hard enough during a heat in the 800.

Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco, who had the top time in Sunday's semifinals (3:33.99), held on for the bronze (3:35.13) over American Matt Centrowitz who crossed the finish line in 3:35.17. Click here for complete results of the 1500.

Manzano raced past both Iguider and Centrowitz over the last 30 meters to become the sixth Longhorn to earn a medal at the Olympics and the first since 1992 (Winthrop Graham - silver in 400-meter hurdle; Du'aine Ladejo - bronze in 1600-meter relay).

The 27-year-old is also just the fourth American medalist in the 1500 since the 1920 Olympics. Bo McMillen earned the silver in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. Glenn Cunningham was a silver medalist at the 1936 Berlin games.

Two former Longhorns will compete over the next two days.

Competing for his native Haiti, Samyr Laine advanced to finals of the triple jump by finishing sixth in Group A of Tuesday's qualifying round. Laine leapt 16.81m (55-2.00) on his second of three attempts and was one of seven qualifiers out of the first of two groups. Click here for complete results of the triple jump.

The triple jump finals are set for 1:20 p.m. (CDT) Thursday.

Trey Hardee begins his quest for a medal in the decathlon Wednesday. The two-day, 10-event competition gets underway at 4:10 a.m. Wednesday.

Texas Longhorns Competition Schedule (all times Central)

Wednesday, August 8
4:10 a.m. - Decathlon 100m (Trey Hardee)
5:10 a.m. - Decathlon Long Jump (Trey Hardee)
6:50 a.m. - Decathlon Shot Put (Trey Hardee)
Noon - Decathlon High Jump (Trey Hardee)
3:30 p.m. - Decathlon 400m (Trey Hardee)

Thursday, August 9
3 a.m. - Decathlon 110m Hurdles (Trey Hardee)
3:55 a.m. - Decathlon Discus Throw (Trey Hardee)
6:55 a.m. - Decathlon Pole Vault (Trey Hardee)
12:30 p.m. - Decathlon Javelin Throw (Trey Hardee)
1:20 p.m. - Triple Jump Final (Samyr Laine)
3:20 p.m. - Decathlon 1500m (Trey Hardee)

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics