Hillary Bor is the US steeplechase champion. Hillary is now, a two-time Olympian. Bor is part of the HOKA ONE ONE team and is a tough steeplechaser. His goal this time around is to be in the medal hunt!
Special thanks to Joe Zochert, SOJC Track Bureau for RunBlogRun.
Hillary Bor, Donn Cabral, steeplechase, photo by Kevmofoto
By Joe Zochert
SOJC Track Bureau for RunBlogRun
EUGENE, Oregon — Hillary Bor made his move at the last water barrier in the Olympic Trials men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday night, pulling away from his training partner, Benard Keter, to win with a time of 8:21.34 to make his second Olympic team.
“I didn’t expect to make the team in 2016 — it was a surprise,” said Bor. “Now I have pressure from people expecting me to make the team. I couldn’t sleep last night. I wanted to make sure 2016 wasn’t a fluke. You can’t ask better than being a second-time Olympian.”
Bor, 31, was happy to share the moment with Keter, 29, who finished second in 8:21.81 to make his first Olympic team.
“We push each other a lot in the process. He’s come a long way,” said Bor. “When we came here in April, he ran really badly. He was almost last but he put in the training. I’m really happy for Bernard. He worked so hard and wanted it really badly. It feels good. It shows what we are doing is working.”
Bor, the 2019 U.S. champion, is the only runner from the 2016 Olympic steeplechaser qualifiers to qualify for Tokyo. Two-time Olympian Donn Cabral got fifth in 8:25.95, and 2016 silver medalist Evan Jager withdrew before the meet due to an ongoing calf injury.
With a spot secured for Tokyo, Bor will be celebrating his win with his family. He plans to FaceTime with his daughter, Ashlyn and son, Jalyn.
After spending time with family, he plans to either go home to Colorado Springs to train until the Olympics or head to Monaco to try to get down to 8:05. Bor will be looking to medal in Tokyo after getting seventh in the 2016 Olympics.
