Beijing2008/Bernard Lagat

Distance Running United States Age: 33

It's easy to call Lagat a hired gun. America has long struggled in distance running — the U.S. hasn't won 5000m gold in 44 years. Now here's Lagat, who has already won two Olympic medals for his native Kenya, competing for the U.S. in Beijing. But Lagat, who became a U.S. citizen in 2004, insists he's a legit American: he's lived in the country for more than a decade, attended Washington State University, and now resides in Arizona. He's also a class act. Lagat is the defending world champ in the 1,500m and 5,000m, and also won both races at the U.S. trials. He'll go for the double in Beijing. 项目：长跑 国籍：美国 年龄：33 毋庸置疑，拉加特是一位美国聘请来的优秀运动员。美国长期以来一直在长跑这个项目上奋斗着，他已经有44年没能在5500米长跑这个项目上获得金牌了。现在，拉加特来了，他曾经两次为他的祖国肯尼亚在奥运会上赢得金牌，这次他将代表美国出现在北京奥运会上。在2004年加入美国国籍的拉加特一直声称自己是一个合法的美国人：他已经在这个国家居住了十多年，进入了华盛顿州立大学，现在居住在亚利桑那州。同时他也是一名优秀的运动员，他是世界锦标赛1500米和5000米的卫冕冠军，而且在美国预赛中也赢得了这两个项目的胜利。这次他就是为了这两个项目的金牌来北京的。