Providence resident Molly Huddle finished 11th today in the finals of the women's 5,000-meter run at the Summer Olympics in London.
Huddle finished the race in 15:20.29. Meseret Defar of Ethiopia won gold in 15:04.25. Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya won silver in 15:04.73, and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia won bronze in 15:05.15.
After the race, Huddle told The Journal's Ed Klajman that she didn't feel her best today. But she wasn't exactly unhappy with the way things turned out for her in London.
"I felt pretty bad from the start, probably just not recovered from the rounds," she said. "My legs felt heavy and even the 74s and 75s (the slower-paced early laps) didn't feel good to me. I just did the best I could."
"I'm definitely happy to make the final," she said. "I wanted top 10 and I ended 11th."
For much of the race, the runners ran at a conservative pace, but the East African favorites pulled away over the last three laps. Runners from Kenya and Ethiopia took each of the top six spots.
More to come later.