The winner of the 5-kilometer run at the U.S. Olympic trials last month, Tim Broe, booked his ticket to Athens on Friday when he achieved the Olympic A standard at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at the Crystal Palace in London.

Broe finished seventh in 13 minutes, 18.61 seconds – well under the necessary time of 13:21.50.

That has implications for Ellsworth native Louie Luchini, who will attempt to run the A standard tonight at the KBC Night of Athletics Grand Prix II meet in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. What it means for Luchini is that only one spot now remains open on the U.S. Olympic team in 5K.

Former Yarmouth star Matt Lane, who was fourth at the trials, had still harbored hopes of running the A standard and being considered for the team. Lane also competed Friday in London, but fell short of the mark with his 14th-place finish at 13:39.72.

Normally, the top three finishers at the trials would be selected for the team, provided they had run the A standard. But this year, only one American athlete, Jonathon Riley, had run the A standard. That meant that USA Track & Field, the sport’s governing body, had to nominate a team of four athletes who would be allowed to chase the A standard.

Broe, Riley, Jorge Torres (seventh at the trials), and Luchini (12th at the trials) were the four athletes nominated. Broe was nominated because he won the trials; and Riley was nominated because he had already run the A standard. Broe and Riley are now guaranteed spots on the Olympic team.

Torres and Luchini were nominated on the basis of having previously run the B standard (13:25.40). Despite finishing fourth at the trials, Lane was not nominated because he had not previously run the B standard.

But Lane decided to chase the A standard anyway. If three of the nominated athletes had not run the standard by Aug. 9, there was a chance that Lane could have been named to the team on an injury substitution.

“I’m proud of coming over here and at least giving it one more shot,” Lane said in a phone interview Friday. “I can live with that.”

The race was won by Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie in 12:55.31.

Lane said he was fairly comfortable in the early stages of the race, passing the mile mark in 4:16 and three kilometers in 8:03. He was still running in a pack that included Broe at that point. Shortly thereafter, he began to lose contact with Broe.

“I started to feel Broe push [the pace]. Well, it felt to me like he was pushing the pace, but it was more like he was just maintaining [his pace]. I tried to go and not let a gap open up. But I just fell off,” Lane said.

For the 26-year-old Lane, it is the second time he has experienced acute disappointment in an Olympic year. He was also fourth at the trials in 2000.

“It’s hard, qualifying for an Olympic team, especially in a sport as fickle as running. It’s probably one of the hardest things to do in sport,” Lane said.

Lane said he will now put the track season behind him and concentrate on road racing. He also plans to visit his family in Maine. And he hasn’t abandoned his Olympic dreams, either.

“Maybe it’s not over. I still have hopes for 2008. This year was a good chase, a learning experience. It was definitely character building. And that’s the important part,” Lane said.