This Olympic Games, Jennifer Rhines is going back to her roots.

After competing in the 10,000 meters in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and the marathon in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Rhines is returning to the event she excelled in during college, the 5,000.

On Aug. 19, Rhines, a native of Liverpool and the daughter of two Watertown High School graduates, will attempt to qualify for the finals of the 5,000 in Beijing. The finals are scheduled for Aug. 22. Those finals have been a goal of hers since late 2006 when she realized that the marathon was not for her.

"I thought to be more competitive internationally, I needed to move up to the marathon," said Rhines in her postrace interview after qualifying for the Beijing Olympics at the U.S. trials in Eugene, Ore. "But in the end I'm mentally stronger in the shorter distances, like the 5K and 10K."

Rhines, who finished 34th in the women's marathon at the Athens Games, arrived Tuesday at the U.S. track and field team's training center in Dalian, China, said her father, Allen.

Allen and Jean Rhines have watched their daughter compete in the Olympics in person the last two times but will watch this Olympics on television either at their cottage in Chaumont or their home in Liverpool. They received a call from Jennifer when she arrived in China.

"She said there's very high security there," Allen said. "It's the strongest security she has seen."

Rhines plans to continue to train at the U.S. center until her qualifying race, her father said, as she tries to avoid the much-talked-about smog and heat of Beijing. It's the continuation of a deliberate process that began when she decided to focus on the 5,000 following discouraging outcomes in marathons in Tokyo and New York City in 2006.

Rhines realized then that she was best equipped for shorter distances. She longed for the track. It's where her love of distance running began.

"I sat in the stands the last two Olympics watching the 5K and 10K finals," said Rhines, who did not qualify for the finals of the 2000 Olympics.

For Rhines, the turning point in her decision to change distance disciplines actually came before those marathon runs. Her husband of 10 years, Terrence Mahon, was hired to coach elite distance runners in California. Rhines, a national champion in the 5,000 at Villanova from 1994-96, and Mahon moved from Philadelphia, Pa., to Mammoth Lakes, Calif., a town with an altitude of 7,800 feet. Mahon, also Rhines's coach, began to train his athletes — among them Olympians Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi — in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Rhines altered her training. She focused on sprint work and different weight-room exercises.

She felt at home training for the 5,000 and her times began to drop.

"She was happy with her times," Allen said. "She is extremely fit. She has focused on her conditioning. ... She always loved track and field. She's a very competitive runner."

In a banner 2007, Rhines topped almost all of her personal bests, setting marks in the 10,000 in April, and the 1,500 and 3,000 in July. After a 2008 indoor season in which more personal marks fell, she reached the realization of a year-and-a-half of work: a time of 14:54.29 in the 5,000 in June during the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. She took fifth, but only four other U.S. runners have ever achieved a better time in the 5,000.

At the Olympic trials, Allen and Jean traveled to Eugene and watched Rhines finish the 5,000 in 15:01.02 for second place, three days after her 34th birthday. Rhines, who runs for adidas, joins two Nike runners, first-place finisher Kara Goucher and third-place finisher Shalane Flanagan in Beijing.

"I'm really excited to get to run in Beijing," she said after the race. "I've always liked the shorter distances, but I've been getting better and better since I've come back down."

Rhines has continued her build-up for the Games with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 in Paris, behind three Kenyan runners, and a first-place showing in the 3,000 during the Aviva London Grand Prix on July 25.

That leaves Beijing as the next objective for Rhines, who graduated from Liverpool High School in 1992. She used to train on the hills of Thompson Park and at the track at Watertown High School during summer visits to the cottage on Independence Point. Her grandmother, Louise, lived in Watertown until her death in 2002. The Rhines said people in the area still follow their daughter's accomplishments.

When the season ends, Rhines usually returns home to Syracuse to visit her parents, both longtime recreational runners. Allen said they expect a visit from her this October. In the meantime, they communicate by email, text message or the occasional phone call. But they rarely talk about her career.

"She isn't a little kid anymore ..." Allen said. "But we do talk. We don't talk shop."