Mary Slaney

Track and field

For so many years, there were two images of Mary Slaney.

One was the picture of a world-beater, running from the front and pounding Soviets into the ground with a stride as beautiful as it was unbeatable.

The other image was more familiar - Slaney prone after colliding with South Africa’s Zola Budd, screaming as she watched the 1984 Olympic gold medal in the 3,000 meters pass by.

And now, as she prepares for her third Olympics, a new Mary Slaney is emerging, one who at 37 is older and slower, but also wiser and more engaging. As she prepares to take the track Friday in the prelims of the 5,000 meters, this Mary comes in as a sentimental favorite.

“I’m not going in with any misconceptions of breaking a world record,” Slaney said. “There are definitely favorites going in, and I know what times I have run - and have not run.”

She has not run anywhere near the times she posted in the 1980s, when she set U.S. records that still stand at every distance from 800 to 3,000 meters. At the Olympic trials, she finished second in the 5,000 to Lynn Jennings in a slowish 15:29.39.

And Slaney is nowhere near the top runners in the world. But as she puts it, “I am a competitor.”

Few expected Slaney to make this Olympic team, her fourth since 1980. Injuries seemingly had robbed her of any more chances. But surgery on her legs and a new training regimen gave her new competitive life.

“The pressure here is on me because of myself,” she said.