After that, he finished third in the Olympic Trials 10,000 meter race in 28:10.42 to make the 1980 Olympic team (that didn't compete in the Olympics in Moscow due to the U.S. boycott), and broke the American indoor 5,000 meter record in February, 1981 at the Millrose Games in New York (his 13:22.6 beating the old AR by nearly 20 seconds as he finished second behind Suleiman Nyambui, who broke the indoor world record with a 13:20.4).
Nel febbraio 1981 stabilì il nuovo record USA nei 5000 metri ai Millrose Games di New York (il suo 13:22.6 migliorò il precedente di quasi 20 secondi, ma terminò la gara dietro Suleiman Nyambui, che con 13:20.4 abbatté il primato mondiale indoor).