Recent Stories about Harding's Olympian Janet Cherobon-Bawcom

EUGENE, Ore. – Former Harding University runner Janet Cherobon-Bawcom officially qualified for the 2012 London Olympics in the 10,000 meters on Friday at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Cherobon-Bawcom finished seventh among 24 runners in 32 minutes, 17.06 seconds but became one of three Olympic qualifiers under the United States Olympic Committee rules.

Cherobon-Bawcom was one of only four American women this season to run the Olympic "A" standard of 31 minutes, 45 seconds needed to qualify for the Olympics. She ran a time of 31:33.50 earlier this year. One of the others with the “A” standard was Shalane Flanagan, who says she will not run the 10k in London to focus on the marathon. The remaining three runners with the “A” standard, including Cherobon-Bawcom, needed only to finish the trials race Friday to earn a spot on the Olympic team.

The other two American qualifiers were Amy Hastings, who won the trials race in 31:58.36, and Lisa Uhl, who finished fourth in 32:03.46. Both had run the “A” standard earlier this year.

Cherobon-Bawcom, who was born in Kenya but is a naturalized United State citizen, will be the first Harding athlete ever to compete in the Olympics.

Cherobon-Bawcom was a six-time track All-America honoree at Harding from 2002-05. She won Division II national championships in the 2005 indoor 5,000 meters, 2005 outdoor 5,000 meters, and the 2005 outdoor 10,000 meters. Cherobon-Bawcom was inducted into the Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame in January, 2012.

The three American women will be among 25 competitors in the 10,000 meters in London. The race will be run during the afternoon session on Friday, August 3.