Salazar hospitalized after suffering heart episode.

Byline: From Register-Guard and news service reports

PORTLAND - Two-time Olympian and former University of Oregon star distance runner Alberto Salazar collapsed Saturday at the Nike World campus and had to be hospitalized with a heart problem.

According to a news release from Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Salazar did not have a heart attack when he collapsed about 12:30 p.m. Trained medical professionals near him immediately began treatment, according to the release.

Salazar, 48, had a stent inserted to open an artery at the hospital, where officials said additional tests are being conducted to assess Salazar's health.

Salazar was awake and alert when he arrived at the hospital. He was being treated in the cardiac care unit and was in serious condition. The hospital said he was groggy, and had been visited by family.

Salazar, a longtime Nike employee and consultant who coaches Oregon sophomore Galen Rupp among other elite distance runners, won three consecutive New York City marathons from 1980-82 and the 1982 Boston Marathon.

He set American records in the marathon, 5,000 and 10,000 in 1982, and made the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 and 1984.

While at Oregon, Salazar had three top-10 NCAA cross country meet finishes, including a victory in 1978, and was a three-time all-American in track in the 10,000.