With the world's greatest sporting event commencing in just over a month, athletes from all around the globe are competing to represent their nation at the Summer Games of the 30th Olympiad in London, England. From June 21 to July 1, the Olympics' most successful country will hold the Games' most iconic sport's trials in Eugene, Oregon at the University of Oregon's legendary Hayward Field. In every event on both the rubber oval as well as the adjoining field, the United States will send three athletes to the UK's capital.1
The trials kicked off with the hammer throw, where particularly strong men and women spin in a circle holding a chain with a heavy ball at the end (which doesn't actually resemble a hammer in any meaningful way) before letting go of it and watching it fly. As bizarre as they can look sometimes, I like the throwing events — it not only shows who can toss a heavy object the farthest, but allows people who would normally not be considered your typical athlete by their build compete successfully at a high level in athletics.
Day two, featuring a whole lot of rain (typical Eugene weather), featured the first of the running finals: the men's and women's 10000 meter — a 6.2 mile, 25 lap event that is the longest footrace in the sport. On the men's side, Galen Rupp, who holds the American record in the event (26:48.00) easily grabbed a fourth consecutive US championship title by winning in 27:25.33. He's only the second non-African ever to go under 27 minutes and he's by far the US's best hope for bringing back an Olympic medal in the event since 1964. Matt Tegenkamp, who's focusing on the 10k instead of the 5k, finished second, eight and a half seconds behind Rupp. Dathan Ritzenhein, who barely missed a berth to the Olympics in the marathon after finishing a disappointing fourth, ran a strong race, working with Rupp and leading much of it, to get the final spot in 27:36. On the women's side, Shalane Flanagan, the US record holder (30:22.22) who has a berth in the marathon, ran the race just for fun and was expected by many to win (she ended up third). Amy Hastings, who, like Ritzenhein, finished only fourth in the marathon, won the race in 31:58.36. Joining her in London will be Lisa Uhl (fourth) and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (seventh) who had previously achieved the Olympic A-standard. Because Texas A&M star and NCAA champ Natosha Rogers, who finished second, didn't hit the necessary time of 31:45, she wasn't granted a berth (coming up a little less than a second under 32 minutes). Despite this, she ended up having the most impressive performance in the women's 10k after falling in the middle of the race and getting back up to sprint back into contention. Runners from Kenya and Ethiopia, always so dominant in the distances, will post a huge obstacle to these women aiming for a high finishing spot.
Day three's weather improved later on, but managed to remain miserable for the men's shotput. Veterans Reese Hoffa (69-7.5 feet) and Christian Cantwell (66-5.25) appear in good shape to return to the Olympics while Adam Nelson, another veteran who was expected to do well, didn't qualify for the next round and finished back in fifteenth. Hoffa and Cantwell are the US's most formidable throwers when they inevitably meet their intimidating counterparts from eastern Europe. In the men's 100 prelims, the fastest race on the track, a whole host of incredibly quick sprinters qualified for the next round, including the second fastest man in history Tyson Gay as well as the day's fastest runner Justin Gatlin (9.90 seconds). They will be joined in the next round by the likes of Walter Dix, who has a knack for getting in the finals at international championships; Michael Rogers; Doc Patten; Florida University's Jeff Demps; and Travis Padgett. These guys will be expected to give the elite Jamaican sprinters, led by none other than near-superhuman Usain Bolt, a run for their money. The men's 800 semifinal heats, where athletes more or less try to near-sprint as long as they can, were won by Khadevis Robinson (1:45.83) and Tyler Mulder (1:46.14). Nick Symmonds, the US's current best half-miler, qualified as well as Big West collegiate rivals Charles Jock of UC Irvine and my fellow Gaucho Ryan Martin of UC Santa Barbara.2 Jock and Martin, who are currently the number three and four Americans this year, will both be facing stiff competition in Monday's final in their quest to wear the red, white, and blue. In the 400 meter, one of the US's best events, defending Olympic gold-medalist LaShawn Merritt and defending bronze-medalist Sanya Richards-Ross had the fastest and second fastest semifinal times in their respective races (44.78 and 50.81), with other impressive performances by Francena McCorory, Debbie Dunn, and Florida University star Tony McQuay. Jeremy Wariner, who has four Olympic and six World Championship medals almost as shiny as all the bling he races in, finished a disappointing seventh overall and will have to race extremely well to get a ticket to London. Whoever the eventual six quarter-milers are, they will be heavily favored to bring back more medals in the event the United States always dominates in.
The two finals on day three, the women's 100 hurdles and 100 meter proved quite exciting. Dawn Harper, the defending Olympic champ, won in 12.73 seconds with Kellie Wells second. I was glad to see Lolo Jones, who tripped on the penultimate hurdle at the Beijing Games to set up a tragic finish and a disappointing last four years, fight to place third and grab the last spot on the team. Hopefully she'll continue to do well and get revenge in London. In the 100 meters, Carmelita Jeter, the second fastest woman in history and last year's world champion, finished first in 10.92 with Tianna Madison second. Allyson Felix,3 a three-time world champion in the 200, decided to drop the 400 for this year's Games to try to make the team in the shortest sprint event. Unfortunately she came up fourth behind training partner Jeneba Tarmoh by less than a minuscule 0.001 seconds. After the officials studied the photo finish, however, it was called a dead heat, a rarity even in the 100, and third place is yet to be decided. Despite potentially falling short, Felix will very likely make the team in the 200 meter and hopefully get her first Olympic gold in the event.
The greatest trial so far, however, was undoubtedly in the decathlon, a two day competition between men who complete ten different events between the track and the field. Ashton Eaton, a five-time NCAA champion; Trey Hardee, a two-time world champion; and Bryan Clay, the defending Olympic champion, introduced the possibility of an American sweep in London and all three had great day ones. Eaton, who led the field after the first day, had fantastic performances with a huge 10.21 in the 100 and decathlon record 27 feet in the long jump. On the second and final day of the competition, though, Eaton and Clay found themselves on opposite sides of success. During the 110 hurdles, Clay accidentally knocked down the final barrier with his hand and was quickly disqualified. After consideration, the tearful Clay's points were reinstated, but he ultimately finished a very disappointing twelfth. Eaton, on the other hand, continued to dominate the field with performances that included a personal best in the pole vault. With the final event, the 1500 meters, about to start, Eaton needed to a 2 second PB, a 4:16 for the three and three-quarter lap race, to break the eleven year old world record. After a huge effort in the decathlon's lone distance race, Eaton crossed the finish line first in 4:144 and acquired the title "greatest athlete in the world"5 (and presumably, with a world record of 9039 points, "the greatest athlete to ever live"). After his performance, it'll take one hell of an athlete to challenge his supremacy in London. And even though he finished over 600 points back, Hardee will also be hard to beat — giving the US a great chance to bring home the gold and silver.
1 Providing those three athletes meet the minimum Olympic qualifying time. You can't just have a 5:30 1500 meter runner at the Olympics after all.
2 Martin would have just graduated actually, but he's still competing in the UCSB uniform so for now I'll say we're still fellow Gauchos!
3 I met her at a 5k once.
4 That's the same time my 1500 would be if my best mile was converted.
5 I think "world's greatest athlete" would apply better to a decathlon champion if they had 5 track and 5 field events instead of 4 track and 6 field. I'd like to see one of the three throwing events changed to maybe the 800 and the 1500 to something longer like the 3000. But that's another story.
The trials kicked off with the hammer throw, where particularly strong men and women spin in a circle holding a chain with a heavy ball at the end (which doesn't actually resemble a hammer in any meaningful way) before letting go of it and watching it fly. As bizarre as they can look sometimes, I like the throwing events — it not only shows who can toss a heavy object the farthest, but allows people who would normally not be considered your typical athlete by their build compete successfully at a high level in athletics.
Day two, featuring a whole lot of rain (typical Eugene weather), featured the first of the running finals: the men's and women's 10000 meter — a 6.2 mile, 25 lap event that is the longest footrace in the sport. On the men's side, Galen Rupp, who holds the American record in the event (26:48.00) easily grabbed a fourth consecutive US championship title by winning in 27:25.33. He's only the second non-African ever to go under 27 minutes and he's by far the US's best hope for bringing back an Olympic medal in the event since 1964. Matt Tegenkamp, who's focusing on the 10k instead of the 5k, finished second, eight and a half seconds behind Rupp. Dathan Ritzenhein, who barely missed a berth to the Olympics in the marathon after finishing a disappointing fourth, ran a strong race, working with Rupp and leading much of it, to get the final spot in 27:36. On the women's side, Shalane Flanagan, the US record holder (30:22.22) who has a berth in the marathon, ran the race just for fun and was expected by many to win (she ended up third). Amy Hastings, who, like Ritzenhein, finished only fourth in the marathon, won the race in 31:58.36. Joining her in London will be Lisa Uhl (fourth) and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (seventh) who had previously achieved the Olympic A-standard. Because Texas A&M star and NCAA champ Natosha Rogers, who finished second, didn't hit the necessary time of 31:45, she wasn't granted a berth (coming up a little less than a second under 32 minutes). Despite this, she ended up having the most impressive performance in the women's 10k after falling in the middle of the race and getting back up to sprint back into contention. Runners from Kenya and Ethiopia, always so dominant in the distances, will post a huge obstacle to these women aiming for a high finishing spot.
Day three's weather improved later on, but managed to remain miserable for the men's shotput. Veterans Reese Hoffa (69-7.5 feet) and Christian Cantwell (66-5.25) appear in good shape to return to the Olympics while Adam Nelson, another veteran who was expected to do well, didn't qualify for the next round and finished back in fifteenth. Hoffa and Cantwell are the US's most formidable throwers when they inevitably meet their intimidating counterparts from eastern Europe. In the men's 100 prelims, the fastest race on the track, a whole host of incredibly quick sprinters qualified for the next round, including the second fastest man in history Tyson Gay as well as the day's fastest runner Justin Gatlin (9.90 seconds). They will be joined in the next round by the likes of Walter Dix, who has a knack for getting in the finals at international championships; Michael Rogers; Doc Patten; Florida University's Jeff Demps; and Travis Padgett. These guys will be expected to give the elite Jamaican sprinters, led by none other than near-superhuman Usain Bolt, a run for their money. The men's 800 semifinal heats, where athletes more or less try to near-sprint as long as they can, were won by Khadevis Robinson (1:45.83) and Tyler Mulder (1:46.14). Nick Symmonds, the US's current best half-miler, qualified as well as Big West collegiate rivals Charles Jock of UC Irvine and my fellow Gaucho Ryan Martin of UC Santa Barbara.2 Jock and Martin, who are currently the number three and four Americans this year, will both be facing stiff competition in Monday's final in their quest to wear the red, white, and blue. In the 400 meter, one of the US's best events, defending Olympic gold-medalist LaShawn Merritt and defending bronze-medalist Sanya Richards-Ross had the fastest and second fastest semifinal times in their respective races (44.78 and 50.81), with other impressive performances by Francena McCorory, Debbie Dunn, and Florida University star Tony McQuay. Jeremy Wariner, who has four Olympic and six World Championship medals almost as shiny as all the bling he races in, finished a disappointing seventh overall and will have to race extremely well to get a ticket to London. Whoever the eventual six quarter-milers are, they will be heavily favored to bring back more medals in the event the United States always dominates in.
The two finals on day three, the women's 100 hurdles and 100 meter proved quite exciting. Dawn Harper, the defending Olympic champ, won in 12.73 seconds with Kellie Wells second. I was glad to see Lolo Jones, who tripped on the penultimate hurdle at the Beijing Games to set up a tragic finish and a disappointing last four years, fight to place third and grab the last spot on the team. Hopefully she'll continue to do well and get revenge in London. In the 100 meters, Carmelita Jeter, the second fastest woman in history and last year's world champion, finished first in 10.92 with Tianna Madison second. Allyson Felix,3 a three-time world champion in the 200, decided to drop the 400 for this year's Games to try to make the team in the shortest sprint event. Unfortunately she came up fourth behind training partner Jeneba Tarmoh by less than a minuscule 0.001 seconds. After the officials studied the photo finish, however, it was called a dead heat, a rarity even in the 100, and third place is yet to be decided. Despite potentially falling short, Felix will very likely make the team in the 200 meter and hopefully get her first Olympic gold in the event.
The greatest trial so far, however, was undoubtedly in the decathlon, a two day competition between men who complete ten different events between the track and the field. Ashton Eaton, a five-time NCAA champion; Trey Hardee, a two-time world champion; and Bryan Clay, the defending Olympic champion, introduced the possibility of an American sweep in London and all three had great day ones. Eaton, who led the field after the first day, had fantastic performances with a huge 10.21 in the 100 and decathlon record 27 feet in the long jump. On the second and final day of the competition, though, Eaton and Clay found themselves on opposite sides of success. During the 110 hurdles, Clay accidentally knocked down the final barrier with his hand and was quickly disqualified. After consideration, the tearful Clay's points were reinstated, but he ultimately finished a very disappointing twelfth. Eaton, on the other hand, continued to dominate the field with performances that included a personal best in the pole vault. With the final event, the 1500 meters, about to start, Eaton needed to a 2 second PB, a 4:16 for the three and three-quarter lap race, to break the eleven year old world record. After a huge effort in the decathlon's lone distance race, Eaton crossed the finish line first in 4:144 and acquired the title "greatest athlete in the world"5 (and presumably, with a world record of 9039 points, "the greatest athlete to ever live"). After his performance, it'll take one hell of an athlete to challenge his supremacy in London. And even though he finished over 600 points back, Hardee will also be hard to beat — giving the US a great chance to bring home the gold and silver.
1 Providing those three athletes meet the minimum Olympic qualifying time. You can't just have a 5:30 1500 meter runner at the Olympics after all.
2 Martin would have just graduated actually, but he's still competing in the UCSB uniform so for now I'll say we're still fellow Gauchos!
3 I met her at a 5k once.
4 That's the same time my 1500 would be if my best mile was converted.
5 I think "world's greatest athlete" would apply better to a decathlon champion if they had 5 track and 5 field events instead of 4 track and 6 field. I'd like to see one of the three throwing events changed to maybe the 800 and the 1500 to something longer like the 3000. But that's another story.
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