On Saturday night, Paul Chelimo - a 25-year-old UNC-Greensboro alumnus, and the university's first Olympian - ran the race of his life. He remained in the group of top four runners throughout almost the entire race, eventually placing second in track and field's 5,000 meters final at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The repeating 5,000-meter Olympic champion, Britain's Mo Farah, won gold in the race.
With his victory, Chelimo helped the United States Olympic Team break a century-old record. His silver medal represents the sixth medal for the U.S. team in this year's middle distance races, the most since 1912. It is also the first medal for the United States' in the 5,000-meter event since 1964.
But last night, the Kenyan-born American runner, who is a member of the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program, also received the scare of his life. Immediately following his historic run, he was informed that he had been disqualified from the race for what appeared to be pushing down the home stretch as he attempted to gain outside position.
During his post-race interview, Chelimo was notified of the news on live television, and a look of shock suddenly came over his face. Seconds later, he began emotionally pleading his case with NBC track and field reporter Lewis Johnson, stating that he felt he had been boxed in by one of the two Ethiopian athletes.
Chelimo argued that he had no intention of impeding the other runner's progress, and vowed to appeal the Olympic committee's ruling. He then walked away from the interview in complete dismay, shaking his head.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, NBC presented a photo on screen of Chelimo stepping out of bounds following contact with one of the Ethiopian runners, and his fate seemed to be sealed. But five minutes later, the network announced that Chelimo's silver medal finish had been reinstated.