2016 U.S. Olympic Team TrialsJul 9, 2016 by Meg Bellino
Olympic Trials Day 8 Full Recap: Sydney McLaughlin Cruises to 400mH Finals
Olympic Trials Day 8 Full Recap: Sydney McLaughlin Cruises to 400mH Finals
EUGENE, Ore. - Catch up on all of the action from day eight of the U.S. Olympic Trials. Sydney McLaughlin Cruises, Shamier Little Fails to Advance to Final1
EUGENE, Ore. - Catch up on all of the action from day eight of the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Sydney McLaughlin Cruises, Shamier Little Fails to Advance to Final
16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic (NJ) won her 400m hurdle semi-final in 55.23. McLaughlin, the 2015 world youth champion, won the first section over T’erea Brown and NCAA record-holder Kori Carter.
Dalilah Muhammad posted the fastest time of the day and bettered her No. 3 world rankings in the second section by running 54.15 over Harvard’s Autumne Franklin, 400m trials finalist Ashley Spencer and world bronze medalist Cassy Tate. Muhammad took silver in the event at the 2013 world championships but didn’t run faster than 56 seconds the last two seasons. Interestingly, she was the 2007 world youth champion. The final will pit two youth champions, eight years apart, against each other.
Footage courtesy of NBCOlympics (http://liveextra.nbcsports.com) and USOC
With perhaps the biggest upset of the day, world silver medalist, three-time NCAA champ and new adidas pro Shamier Little ran 55.64 and did not advance to the final.
LaShawn Merritt's World Lead and Two High Schoolers Onto the Final
LaShawn Merritt ran the fastest 200m of 2016 with his 19.74 (+1.4) to win the third semi-final section. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist and three-time 400m world champion is contesting in the 200m for the first time ever at the Olympic Trials. Back in April, he ran a PB of 19.78. He bettered his own world lead today in Eugene.
Footage courtesy of NBCOlympics (http://liveextra.nbcsports.com) and USOC
Recent high school graduates Michael Norman (20.21, section 1) and Noah Lyles (20.26, section 2) will make up one-fourth of Sunday’s 200m final. Norman took down Justin Gatlin by 0.02 to solidify his spot, while Lyles beat Georgia’s Kendal Williams by 0.05. Should Merritt finish in the top three and Lyles or Norman finish in the dreaded fourth position, there is a chance that Merritt would opt for the 400m/4x400m relay double in Rio and NOT run the 200m, which would open up a spot on the team for someone from the class of 2016.
Footage courtesy of NBCOlympics (http://liveextra.nbcsports.com) and USOC
Men's Discus Sending Three Athletes to Rio
Mason Finley, Tavis Bailey and Andrew Evans qualified for Rio in the men’s discus finals. Finley jumped to the lead with a 63.42m second throw, while Bailey (61.57m) and Evans (61.22m) achieved their best marks on their first tosses. According to an interview with LetsRun, Finley credits his win today due to the fact that he lost 87 pounds. He went from 437 to 350— WHAT!?
Top Four 2012 Trials Finishers Advance to Women’s 1500 Final
The top finishers of the 2012 Trials - Morgan Uceny, Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Simpson and Gabe Grunewald - all advanced to the 1500m final on Sunday. Grunewald made the semi-final yesterday just two hours after failing to make the 5000m final, making this feat all the more impressive.
Brenda Martinez, who crashed in the 800m final, looked in control to win her semi in 4:11.05. Notably, four-time U.S. champion Treniere Moser did not start, and world championship team members Cory McGee and Kerri Gallagher did not advance to the final.
There Will be 13 Finalists in the Men’s 1500m Final
Through two men’s 1500m semi-finals we learned a few things:
1. Craig Engels split 52.96 to advance to the 1500m final and he is having the meet of his life.
He’s the first American athlete to make both the Olympic Trials 800m and 1500m finals since Lopez Lomong made both in 2008. Engels only finished seventh in the NCAA 1500m and third in the NCAA DMR this year, yet the other day he finished fourth in the Olympic trials 800m. He does not have the standard (3:36.20), which goes on to my next point.
2. There will be 13 finalists instead of 12. Jordan McNamara finished seventh in section two but advanced on time. He was initially disqualified for impeding Andrew Wheating, which allowed Johnny Gregorek to advance on time. After the USATF Jury of Appeals reviewed the situation, they decided to reinstate him.
3. Only five athletes have the Olympic standard: Kyle Merber, Ben Blankenship, Matt Centrowitz, Robby Andrews and Leo Manzano. This means the other eight finalists will be gritting their teeth to run under the 3:36.20 barrier and we’ll hopefully see a fast race. Sure it’s fun to see people close in 52 seconds after going out in 2:08, but let’s see some fast racing!
Izaic Yorks plans on taking the race out hard with the hopes of running the Olympic standard.
Sydney McLaughlin Cruises, Shamier Little Fails to Advance to Final
16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic (NJ) won her 400m hurdle semi-final in 55.23. McLaughlin, the 2015 world youth champion, won the first section over T’erea Brown and NCAA record-holder Kori Carter.
Dalilah Muhammad posted the fastest time of the day and bettered her No. 3 world rankings in the second section by running 54.15 over Harvard’s Autumne Franklin, 400m trials finalist Ashley Spencer and world bronze medalist Cassy Tate. Muhammad took silver in the event at the 2013 world championships but didn’t run faster than 56 seconds the last two seasons. Interestingly, she was the 2007 world youth champion. The final will pit two youth champions, eight years apart, against each other.
Sydney McLaughlin moves on to the Womens 400m hurdles finals!
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 8, 2016
Did we mention she's ONLY 16! #RoadToRio https://t.co/HYYcBTCKxv
Footage courtesy of NBCOlympics (http://liveextra.nbcsports.com) and USOC
With perhaps the biggest upset of the day, world silver medalist, three-time NCAA champ and new adidas pro Shamier Little ran 55.64 and did not advance to the final.
LaShawn Merritt's World Lead and Two High Schoolers Onto the Final
LaShawn Merritt ran the fastest 200m of 2016 with his 19.74 (+1.4) to win the third semi-final section. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist and three-time 400m world champion is contesting in the 200m for the first time ever at the Olympic Trials. Back in April, he ran a PB of 19.78. He bettered his own world lead today in Eugene.
19.74 for @lashawnmerritt pic.twitter.com/OKrgTcw9dl
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 9, 2016
Footage courtesy of NBCOlympics (http://liveextra.nbcsports.com) and USOC
Recent high school graduates Michael Norman (20.21, section 1) and Noah Lyles (20.26, section 2) will make up one-fourth of Sunday’s 200m final. Norman took down Justin Gatlin by 0.02 to solidify his spot, while Lyles beat Georgia’s Kendal Williams by 0.05. Should Merritt finish in the top three and Lyles or Norman finish in the dreaded fourth position, there is a chance that Merritt would opt for the 400m/4x400m relay double in Rio and NOT run the 200m, which would open up a spot on the team for someone from the class of 2016.
.@Mike_Norman22 is a BEAST. #RoadToRio https://t.co/w5JnAOV4dl
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 9, 2016
Footage courtesy of NBCOlympics (http://liveextra.nbcsports.com) and USOC
Men's Discus Sending Three Athletes to Rio
Mason Finley, Tavis Bailey and Andrew Evans qualified for Rio in the men’s discus finals. Finley jumped to the lead with a 63.42m second throw, while Bailey (61.57m) and Evans (61.22m) achieved their best marks on their first tosses. According to an interview with LetsRun, Finley credits his win today due to the fact that he lost 87 pounds. He went from 437 to 350— WHAT!?
Mason Finley credits his discus win to fact he lost 87 pounds - from 437 to 350!!: https://t.co/H8B1usSlgu via @YouTube
— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) July 9, 2016
Top Four 2012 Trials Finishers Advance to Women’s 1500 Final
The top finishers of the 2012 Trials - Morgan Uceny, Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Simpson and Gabe Grunewald - all advanced to the 1500m final on Sunday. Grunewald made the semi-final yesterday just two hours after failing to make the 5000m final, making this feat all the more impressive.
Brenda Martinez, who crashed in the 800m final, looked in control to win her semi in 4:11.05. Notably, four-time U.S. champion Treniere Moser did not start, and world championship team members Cory McGee and Kerri Gallagher did not advance to the final.
"Track doesn't care about your feelings." - @bmartrun #TrackTown16 https://t.co/tuy75BZLsR
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 9, 2016
There Will be 13 Finalists in the Men’s 1500m Final
Through two men’s 1500m semi-finals we learned a few things:
1. Craig Engels split 52.96 to advance to the 1500m final and he is having the meet of his life.
He’s the first American athlete to make both the Olympic Trials 800m and 1500m finals since Lopez Lomong made both in 2008. Engels only finished seventh in the NCAA 1500m and third in the NCAA DMR this year, yet the other day he finished fourth in the Olympic trials 800m. He does not have the standard (3:36.20), which goes on to my next point.
2. There will be 13 finalists instead of 12. Jordan McNamara finished seventh in section two but advanced on time. He was initially disqualified for impeding Andrew Wheating, which allowed Johnny Gregorek to advance on time. After the USATF Jury of Appeals reviewed the situation, they decided to reinstate him.
3. Only five athletes have the Olympic standard: Kyle Merber, Ben Blankenship, Matt Centrowitz, Robby Andrews and Leo Manzano. This means the other eight finalists will be gritting their teeth to run under the 3:36.20 barrier and we’ll hopefully see a fast race. Sure it’s fun to see people close in 52 seconds after going out in 2:08, but let’s see some fast racing!
Izaic Yorks plans on taking the race out hard with the hopes of running the Olympic standard.