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Olympics Blog

The heat is back on

By Helene Elliott
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BEIJING -- A return of oppressive heat and humidity took a toll Tuesday in the first round of the women’s 5,000 meters when Russian runner Elena Zadorozhnaya staggered off the track and collapsed on the infield.

Zadorozhnaya, who recorded one of the top 10 times in the world this season, was laboring to breathe when she stepped off the track. She collapsed onto her back with an anguished expression on her face. Medical personnel quickly arrived and carried her off the field on a stretcher.

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The three American women advanced, with 10,000-meter bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan posting the best time of the trio at 14 minutes 59.69 seconds. Kara Goucher was timed in 15:00.98 and Jen Rhines -- who trains at Mammoth Lakes -- was timed in 15:15.12.

-- Helene Elliott

Olympics Blog
Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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