BEIJING -- Tom Eastler was doing what any proud father would do: enjoying the attention that his daughter, Gretchen, was getting after winning a racewalking state championship one long ago afternoon.

And as he was there, telling anyone and everyone that Gretchen was, indeed, his daughter, a friend tapped him on his shoulder. "Hey Tom,'' the man said. "You might want to take a look at this. Kevin just set a Maine record.''

Kevin, thought Tom Eastler. My Kevin?

"I didn't even know he was in the race,'' said Tom Eastler. "That was his first win. He went on from there.''

You could say that. From his first win as a 9-year-old to his victory in the 20-kilometer racewalk in the U.S. Olympic Trials in early July, Kevin Eastler has established himself as America's premier racewalker.

He holds the U.S. record for the 30K racewalk and he has the three fastest 20K times for an American since 2006. And now he wants to put an exclamation point on his career with his second Olympic appearance.

"I'm very grateful for this chance,'' said Kevin Eastler, who was raised in Farmington and went to Mt. Blue High School. "I had to go through a lot this year and that makes this that much sweeter, to work through all that and to finish first in the Olympic trials -- it's a nice way to finish your career.''

Yes, this is likely the last great competitive race Kevin Eastler will run. He is 30. And he has battled some serious injuries this year. He suffered a deep sports hernia in December, forcing surgery, then has battled knee problems in his recovery. Recently, he has had hamstring issues.

His body, he has said, has had enough and is telling him so.

"Twenty-one years,'' he said, "is a long time.''

He certainly has lasted longer than anyone expected, including his father. Kevin Eastler got into the sport because of his sister, Gretchen, who set junior national records and competed in the 2000 trials.

"I saw her do it, I saw her do it well,'' he said. "So I did it.''

Besides, he said, after playing one year of basketball in middle school, he was convinced ball sports weren't for him.

It was a pretty good decision.

"He's smart, he trains smart and he races smart,'' said Tom Eastler. "And he's tough. You might not see it in his persona, but he is tough. He doesn't want to lose. Just going through the pain he was in at the trials, OK that amazes me, but it probably shouldn't have because he has always done amazing things.''

Eastler, a captain in the Air Force, wasn't sure what to expect in the trials. He knew he either had to win or at least beat anyone who set an Olympic standard. He not only won, but blew the field away with a winning time of 27 minutes, 7.1 seconds, more than a minute ahead of the second-place finisher.

"I was thinking the whole time, 'Can I hold this pace?'" said Kevin. "But I felt really good.''

Eastler actually stopped racewalking for a couple of years when he entered the Air Force. He biked instead, and later played hockey in an Air Force pick-up league.

"I had started him skating when he was 2, 3 years old,'' said Tom Eastler. "But I never knew he was into hockey. Then one day he calls me and tells me he scored the winning goal in the championship game.

"I told him, 'You know, hockey and racewalking don't go too well together because you can get hurt out there.' "

"So,'' said Kevin Eastler, "I got back into it and saw that I did have the potential.

"You know, I always had that dream as a kid, that youthful dream of making the Olympics. But it wasn't until I was 20 that I realized I had a legitimate shot.''

Eastler had previously finished second (in 2000) and third (2004) in the Olympic trials. He went to the Athens Olympics in 2004, where he finished 21st with a time of 1:25.20, but did not go to Sydney in 2000 because he hadn't met the Olympic standard.

Comparing himself to 2004, he said he would be satisfied with a top 20 finish in Beijing.

"That, to me, would be like a medal,'' said Eastler. "I was in much better shape in Athens. I know that doesn't sound great to people who expect medals, but it would be great to me.''