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Trials Part II Gets Started Today
Finally the "break" is over! The longest two days in recent memory – I must be a track junkie! So what do we have to look forward to? Well Today is going to be star studded. We have prelims in the 1500s and that means our first look at Morgan Uceny, Jenny Simpson, Anna Pierce, and Shannon Rowbury. Christin Wurth Thomas is NOT on the start list. I was so looking forward to her front running style leading this race. That’s a big loss in my opinion – not sure the race will go off as fast without her. In that event the race becomes more tactical and possibly opens…
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How the U.S. Team Looks at the Break
So with the first half of the Trials in the books, it’s time to start looking ahead to London and how this US team is beginning to shape up. I have to say that we have lost some talent – some folk that have gone to the mat for us in the past and come home with hardware. So we will miss Bryan Clay, Adam Nelson, Dwight Phillips, Lauryn Williams and Walter Dix – though we have yet to see if Walter will be back to attempt to make the 200 squad. The most difficult of those to replace, based on these Trials, is Phillips in the long jump. The…
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Trials Day 4 – Half Way to London
Heading into the midway break, Monday was the first really "quiet" day of the Trials. But then, how do you compete for headlines with Eaton’s WR, Dead Heat Gate, and the returns of Justin Gatlin & Tyson Gay? After all that excitement Monday was rather tame. With most of the London berths in the day’s field event finals already decided based on limited numbers of individuals with "A" standards, the"drama" for the day was produced by the two 800 finals. Alysia Montano took the guess work out of who would win the women’s race as she went immediately to the front; opened up a sizeable lead; and cruised home to…
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Trials Day 3 – Redemption Sunday
Today’s agenda was short but sweet – 8 events, 7 finals and 1 semi. But when the names involved include Cantwell, Hoffa, Gay, Gatlin, Richards Ross, Merritt, Wariner, and Suhr you’re talking about one high powered afternoon. Not to mention a lot of athletes looking for redemption – and most got just that. The most anticipated event was the men’s 100 meters as most people were looking to see how Tyson Gay was going to hold up. The worry rapidly changed from Tyson’s legs to Walter Dix’ as Dix pulled up at the end of the first semi! Dix showed up for the final, but his leg was heavily wrapped…
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Trials Day 2 – Ashton Eaton, 9039 WR
Excitement and drama. That’s standard when talking about the Olympic Trials. And while there were only three finals, Day Two just might be one of the most exciting and dramatic Trials days ever! Let’s start with the decathlon, since it did start the day off. Ashton Eaton entered the day with a score of 4728 pts, putting him on WR pace as he, Trey Hardee, and Bryan Clay looked to be on their way to sending the greatest trio of decathletes ever to the Games. A 13.70 to open up things in the hurdles kept Eaton on pace. Unfortunately for Bryan Clay however, it all went wrong. First he hit…
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Trials Day 1 – Rupp Rules
Day one of the Trials is in the book, and if today’s results are any indication this is gonna be a humdinger! Because in spite of the rain that came down during most of the competition, the athletes were nothing short of competitive! After all, THIS is the Olympic Trials – go big or go home! Let’s start with the days’ two finals, the men & women’s 10,000 meters – which did and didn’t run to form. Following the script were the men, as Galen Rupp was in control from the gun running easy as you like while helping to pace Dathan Ritzenhein, who needed an "A" qualifier to go…
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And So the Trials Begin
The Trials begin today with the hammer throwers getting the stage all to themselves. So the spotlight will be on athletes that normally toil in obscurity – Jessica Cosby, Jeneva McCall, Kibwe Johnson and AG Kruger will get their own shining moment in the sun as they kick off one of the world’s greatest track and field competitions. Then tomorrow things move into high gear with the start of the decathlon; qualifying rounds in several events; and the finals of the 10,000 meters. I’ll try and preview each days action as well as updates via the Twitter feed on the right. This opening weekend will be huge. In addition to…
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Pre Trials Notes
We’re just a couple of days from the start of the Trials. There’s not much more to be said other than, let’s get ready to rumble, because all that’s left to do at this point is for the athletes to enter the stadium and decide who goes to London! I did spend some time going through the online entry sheets on Monday and following are twenty one items of interest from that perusal. Take note that at this point some items could change at any time. 21 Notes From the Declaration List None of the star high schoolers are entered in the men’s sprints – Tyreek Hill, Abraham Hall,…
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Trials Preview – Women’s 200 Meters
While the men’s 100 is potentially the most “story” laden event heading into the Trials, it’s certainly not alone in terms of story lines and depth. One of my favorites in this regard is the women’s 1500, which I discussed in detail earlier. However, also recently entering into the “drama zone” with the aforementioned 100 & 1500 is the women’s 200 as it’s suddenly become the middle ground for several of our best female sprinters. Let’s start with the woman for whom this distance is her specialty – Allyson Felix. Felix won three World titles in a row in this event (’05, ’07, ’09) before taking bronze in Daegu last…
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Trials Preview – Men’s 100 Meters
The very nature of the Trials makes this meet exciting – the best in the country come together with only three competitors per event moving on to the Olympic Games. That alone puts a spotlight on every event – and I will be keeping an eye on them all. But some events carry even more intrigue and drama. So while I’ve already given my list of who I think will make the team for London, there are a couple of events that I want to take a closer look at starting with the Men’s 100 meters. The 100 takes on a bit of added importance in this Olympic cycle, because…