Sha'Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles Steal Show Over First Half Of U.S. Trials

Sha'Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles are two of the many names who stole the show at the first weekend of the 2024 US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR.

Jun 27, 2024 by Maxx Bradley

Sha'Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles Steal Show Over First Half Of U.S. Trials

The first half of competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials, which saw breakthroughs, upsets and historic performances, is over.

You can find out everything you need to know about the Olympic Trials here.

Make sure to follow along with FloTrack -- as well as across our social media channels --- to keep up with everything that's going on at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Women's 100m

In a 100m final, Sha'Carri Richardson won her second-straight national title and officially qualified for her first Olympic Games.

Followed by Star Athletics teammates Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry, the trio ran 10.71, 10.80 and 10.89, respectively. Those efforts were the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 7 times in the world this year.

Women's Distance

There is one word that best describes the women's 800m final: Chaotic.

American record-holder and defending Olympic champion Athing Mu took a nasty fall just 200 meters in and was unable to keep her Olympic dream alive.

Nia Akins, who was the U.s. champion a year ago, won her second-straight title in 1:57.36 and did so with a big personal best. Allie Wilson and NCAA champion Juliette Whittaker finished second and thirrd in 1:58.32 and 1:58.45.

After the dust settled, the women's 5,000m final was up.

The three fastest women in the field took all three qualifying spots to Paris.

In a battle down to the very end, Elle Purrier St. Pierre out-leaned Elise Cranny in 14:40.34, while Cranny's old training partner -- and good friend -- Karissa Schweizer was third in 14:45.12.

After leading much of the race, Florida superstar Parker Valby took fourth, hitting the Olympic standard in 14:51.44.

Women's Jumps

With two out of the three jumps already wrapped up at the U.S. Trials, the teams in theory were set.

Vashti Cunningham, who had won the last 13 indoor and outdoor national titles, was beaten by Kentucky Wildcat Charity Hufnagel, who cleared 6-4.25 for the win.

Arkansas' Rachel Glenn and Cunningham were second and third.

Both Cunningham and Glenn will qualify for the Olympics via world ranking, but Hufnagel still needs to chase after the Olympic standard of 1.98m before Sunday.

Women's Throws

In the second-most-shocking event from the first few days of the U.S. Olympic Trials, Brooke Anderson, the third-best hammer thrower in world history, did not make it into the final, fouling on all three attempts.

Meanwhile, Janeé Kassanavoid, a two-time medallist and the seventh-best thrower of all-time, was sixth.

Which means, the current No. 1 and No. 4 athletes in the hammer will be absent in Paris.

The good news is that the U.S. hammer team is still in tremendous hands, as American record-holder Deanna Price finished runner-up with a throw of 244-6; first-time Olympic Trials qualifier Annette Echikunwoke won her first national title.

Erin Reese finished third with a throw of 233-7, and will get in through world rankings.

Heptathlon

For the third-straight year, Anna Hall won the national title in the heptathlon at Hayward Field, this time doing so after knee surgery in January.

Hall pulled away to put up 6,614 points, finishing in the top two in all but one of the seven events. This is Hall's first time qualifying for the Olympics and is a medal threat and the fourth-best in the world this year.

Chari Hawkins and Taliyah Brooks finished second and third, respectively, and will both head to Paris as well via World Rankings.

Men's Sprints

In one of the most thrilling 100m races that Hayward Field has seen in recent memory, Noah Lyles backed up his talk, winning another U.s. title in the 100m and clocking a world lead of 9.83, matching his lifetime best.

Kenny Bednarek finished just behind in 9.87, shooting past this previous best.

Both Lyles and Bednarek are Olympic medalists in the 200m, but are each first-time qualifiers in the 100m.

Fred Kerley, the currently unsponsored world champion and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, finished third in 9.88, matching his season best from a year ago.

Men's Distance

Heading into the men's 10,000m, there was a trio of men with the Olympic standard -- those three will be the ones toeing the line in August.

The race itself had a number of different challengers up front, including Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid and Nico Young, who recently turned pro in signing with adidas.

With 2,000m to go, a pack of nine separated themselves from the rest of the field, but 1,000 meters later, Fisher made a move to take the lead and pulled away from the pack, covering his last two laps in 1:58.61.

Fisher stopped the clock in 27:49.47, as Kincaid's signature kick (55.72) wasn't enough as he crossed in 27:50.74.

Young held off a charging Drew Hunter at the end, taking the last Olympic spot in 27:52.4 to Hunter's 27:53.35.

Men's Hurdles

In the men's 3,000m Steeplechase, Kenneth Rooks did it again, winning his second straight national title and becoming a first-time Olympian.

Rooks pulled away from the field to win in 8:21.92, while former Division III national champion Matthew Wilkinson and Brigham Young's James Corrigan were second and third.

With less than a week until the qualifying window closes, Corrigan is the only one out of the three who isn't in a qualifying position, but he's set to both chase the standard and improve his world ranking this Saturday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Men's Jumps

In the men's pole vault, the American record-holder KC Lightfoot finished 16th in the first round and shockingly fell out of placement.

However, both Sam Kendricks and Chris Nilsen made it through, following with first- and second-place finishes with clearances of 19-5 and 19-3.

Jacob Wooten, a former Texas A&M Aggie, was third with a season best of 19-3.

Men's Throws

For anyone doubting Ryan Crouser, he silenced them. He won another national title with a throw of 74-11.25.

Joe Kovacs, a man who has been Crouser's biggest challenge over the years, was runner-up with a throw of 73-7.25. Payton Otterdahl, a former North Dakota State star, threw 73-0.5 on his second-to-last throw.

Decathlon

In the greatest performance of his life, Michigan State's Heath Baldwin took down the veterans over the course of 10 events, taking down Zach Ziemek and Harrison Williams by over 100 points.

Baldwin tallied 8,625 points while winning five of the events and finishing runner-up in another pair. Ziemek and Williams totaled 8,516 and 8,384.

The No. 7 decathlete in American history, Kyle Garland, had to pull out after seven events due to injury.

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