The 10,000 meters is Galen Rupp’s race. He proved that he is one of the best in the world at it when he placed 2nd in the event at the 2012 London Olympics. However, prior performances do not guarantee future successes and Rupp learned this the hard way last Saturday finishing a disappointing 4th place in arguably his best event at the Track & Field World Championships in Moscow.

On the heels of his performance in the 10,000 meters, Rupp expected to bounce back in his next event, the 5,000 meters, but once again he missed out on placing. This time, Rupp fell behind and never managed to claw his way back into the picture, finishing 8th.

Despite his performances in the two events, Rupp remained poised when talking to reporters.

“We just try to prepare for everything and do the best we can,” Rupp told Steve Ritchie of the Statesman Journal. “I just got to get back to training, and go on to the next one.”

While Rupp missed out on placing in the 5,000 and 10,000, another former Oregon star was busy setting himself up for a chance to win a medal in the 1,500 meters.

As the bell rung marking the start of the final lap of a semifinal heat, Matthew Centrowitz was in dead last. Instead of coasting through the final lap, Centrowitz surged from the end of the pack all the way into second place, finishing with a time of 3:35.95.

“The thing about the 1500 is there is always three rounds to build you up,” Centrowitz said. “The first round is always the most iffy. I gained confidence going through the rounds and I am definitely confident going into the final.”