Women's 400m Final

    The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds have wittled the women's 400m entrants down to eight finalists. Ebonie Floyd, Monica Hargove, Debbie Dunn, Mary Wineberg, Sanya Richards, Natashia Hastings, Dee Dee Trotter and Monique Henderson all advanced for the chance to earn a spot on the Olympic team. To qualify for the Olympics (put simply), an athlete must be among the top-three finishers who posses an Olympic A-standard time. For the distance races in the US, this procedure has been relatively complicated in recent years. Though less likely now, a competitor could concievably finish last and go on to the Olympics if he or she is the only one in the field with the A-standard. For the sprint events, the procedure is far-less complicated in the U.S., given the glut of talent.  All of the Women's 400m finalists came into the trials having already obtained the A-standard. The runners have nothing to worry about except placing in the top-3.

    The clear favorite is Sanya Richards. Richards comes into this meet having spent the past several years ranked #1 in the world, with the American record to her credit as well. The only glaring hole in Richards' otherwise sterling resume is a world-championship gold medal. In 2004 at the Athens Olympics, she took sixth. At 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, she took second. In 2007, she failed to even make the team to Osaka after finishing 4th at the U.S. championships. These performances are not entirely without explanation. At Athens, she was still very young- only 20. In 2005, she was just beginning to show signs of dominance with her hardly-disappointing second-place finish. She had an incredible 2006 season. She won a share of the Million-dollar Golden League jackpot after going undefeated over 400m in Golden league contests; She broke the American record of 48.83 with her 48.70 clocking; She was also named the 2006 IAAF female Athlete of the Year.  In 2007 she struggled with Behcet's  syndrome, a disease which causes painful ulcers and left Richards understandably weak going into the U.S. championships. Richards qualified for the final but was upset by DeeDee Trotter, who won the title in a fast 49.64. Natasha Hastings and Mary Wineberg also finished ahead of Richards to earn spots on the team to Osaka. Trotter finished 5th there, and Wineberg took 8th. Hastings failed to advance to the final.

    The same three who beat Richards last year figure to be her main rivals in the final on Thursday night. Trotter has been inconsistent following her upset at nationals last year. Hastings is the only other woman after Richards and Trotter who qualified for the trials with a sub-50 clocking. Wineberg has also shown good form as of late. Look for these four to challenge for the three spots in the open 400m in Beijing.

Additional Notes...Whoever finishes fourth and misses out on a spot in the open 400m will likely still earn a trip to Beijing as a member of the U.S. 4x400m relay pool...Allyson Felix, after showing talent for the 400m distance in 2007 (she clocked the fastest split in the 4x400m relay at Osaka), had hoped to double in the 400m and her favored 200m distance, but felt the schedule at the trials made it impossible. She is also likely to be among the 4x400m pool in Beijing...Richards is coached by Clyde Hart, who made his name as a coach to several great Baylor 400m runners, including Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner. Richards is a former Texas Longhorn.

Men's 400m Final

 There are, perhaps, only two questions entering the Men's 400m final. Who will make the third spot on the team (presumably behind Jeremy Wariner and Lashawn Merritt)? and Will Merritt defeat Wariner in Eugene, in Beijing, or ever again (after an early-season upset in Europe)? Jeremy Wariner is the 3-time defending world-champion in the 400m. He was the surprise winner in Athens, then won the World Championship crowns in Helsinki and Osaka. He has not run the 400m in the previous two national championships, choosing to focus on the 200m, as there was no major championship in 2006 and he received a bye in 2007 as defending world champion. In his absence last year, Merritt and Angelo Taylor staged an epic dual down the stretch before Taylor out leaned Merritt by one-hundredth of one second. Wariner then lead the U.S. team to a medal sweep in Osaka, with Merritt taking second and Taylor third.

    Taylor is out of the 400m, after failing to advance out of the opening round. Taylor was attempting an ambitious double, competing in the 400m hurdles (where he was the 2000 gold medalist) and 400m. Taylor attempted to advance out of the opening round of the 400m just 23 minutes after taking third in the 400m hurdles final and he did not finish. This leaves the third spot relatively open. Otis Harris and Derrick Brew won silver and bronze behind Wariner in Athens, but neither will be in the final. Lionel Larry was third at nationals last year, and qualified for the trials with the third fastest time among the finalists. Also in the final is Darrold Williamson. Williamson is another Baylor alum. He has joined Wariner on the past three gold medal-winning 4x400m relays (2004 in Athens, 2005 in Helsinki, 2007 in Osaka). He and Larry figure to be the most likely to earn the third spot. Challenging them will be Greg Nixon, Calvin Smith, Reggie Witherspoon and David Neville.

    As to what will happen in the showdown between Wariner and Merritt, both athletes are extremely likely to make the team. The winner, barring an immense upset, is likely to be one of the pair. Regardless of who the title may go to, both athletes are likely to continue the mantra that their "only goal was making the team".

Additional Notes...Wariner recieved considerable press for breaking with Coach Clyde Hart in the Olympic year. The fact that he also lost to Merritt this year adds to speculation that it was the wrong move to make...The U.S., with its depth of talent in the sprints, may have as many as 8 athletes compete in the 4x400m team in Beijing, between the rounds and finals. Look for Angelo Taylor, who has already qualified in the hurdles, to be in the pool even though he is not in the 400m final.

Women's 3000m Steeplechase Final

    The field in the Women's steeplechase is perhaps the youngest and most-talented among all the events in the trials. In the semi-finals, Jenny Barringer, a junior at the University of Colorado, broke the Hayward Field record. Last year as a sophomore, she won the U.S. National title. This year, she missed the American record at the NCAA meet by just half a second. Anna Willard was the runner-up to Barringer at last year's USA championships. In a dual to the line, Barringer prevailed by .08 seconds. Willard had won the NCAA title just a few weeks earlier in a collegiate record, competing as a 5th year senior/graduate student for Michigan. Willard has shown considerable range, and dangerous foot-speed. She owns a 2:02 personal-best in the 800m and recently ran a 4:06 1500m. Lindsey Anderson, a recent graduate from Weber State was just behind Barringer and Willard last year at the national meet. Between the three of them, they have broken the NCAA record 4 times in just over a year. The three women's inexperience showed in Osaka, where none of the three made the final, but each comes into the trials more seasoned than the year before.

    Despite these three women's impressive recent accomplishments, they are by no means guaranteed spots on the team. Lisa Galaviz set the American record in the steeplechase just last year. As a result, she was the top seed coming into the trials. The American record came as a surprise to many last year. Previously, she had finished fourth at the 2007 national meet, and as a result failed to make the team for Osaka. Her performances since them have been inconsistent, so it is hard to consider her a co-favorite with Willard (and her impressive range) and Barringer (and her recent 9:29). She is sure to mount a strong challenge to the team however. Also watch for Delilah DiCrescenzo. Dicrescenzo had the 5th fastest time coming into the trials (9:41.68), but is perhaps the most famous athlete in the field. She has the Plain White-T's to thank for that. The lead singer of the pop group wrote the hit song "Hey there, Delilah" about the runner who he thought was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Regardless of how DiCrescenzo does (and she is likely to do well) "Hey there, Delilah" will surely fill the Hayward Field speakers at some point during the competition.

Additional Notes...This is the first time the Women's Steeplechase event will be run in the Olympics. It was featured as an exhibition (non-qualifying) event at the 2004 Olympic Trials, where Brianna Shook was [perhaps not-so] famously disqualified for missing the first water-barrier. She would go on to set the American record in the event later that summer...The Women's Steeplechase made its international championship debut at Helsinki in 2005...This event is perhaps the most likely distance event to witness an American Record. Willard's personal-bests, Barringer's recent success and Galaviz's credentials make it entirely possible.

-Ben Raphelson