Local runner set to complete in Olympic games
Matt Tegenkamp (front) and Dathan Ritzenhein compete in the men's 10,000 meter final during Day One of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 22, 2012 in Eugene, Oregon.
Photographer: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Copyright Getty Images
Posted: 07/22/2012
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By: 41 Action News Staff
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - Nine athletes with ties to the metro will be taking part in this year’s Olympic games.
The group, including Lee’s Summit native Matt Tegenkamp, will compete in everything from gymnastics to wrestling to track and field.
Tegenkamp leaves for London on Monday, a trip he’s been preparing for months.
His career began at Lee’s Summit High School, but it wasn’t until college that he set his sights on a cold medal.
This year’s Olympics marks the second for Tegenkamp. In 2008, he ran the 5,000 meter race in Beijing.
“As an athlete, it is going to sound a little arrogant, you almost expect to be in this situation,” Tegenkamp said in a Skype interview with 41 Action News. “At the Olympic trials three weeks ago, the field team is really the hardest team to make.”
Tegenkamp is running between 100 to 120 miles per week to prepare for the games.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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