I traveled to Eugene, Oregon this past week for the United States Track & Field Olympic Trials. The 10 day meet took place from July 1-10. As always this highly competitive meet was very chaotic and surprising with many big names failing to make the Olympic team and many newcomers making their first team. High school students Vashti Cunningham and Sydney McLaughlin are going to Rio while veterans Sanya Richards-Ross, Trey Hardee, and Aylsia Montano are not. 41 year old Bernard Lagat won the 5,000m with a 52.8 second final 400 just days after dropping out of the 10,000m. Brenda Martinez came back and made the 1500m team after missing the 800m team due to a crash in the last turn of the final. Favorites like Galen Rupp, Aston Eaton, Jenny Simpson, Molly Huddle, Evan Jager, and Emma Coburn were all able to win the events they were expected to win. My favorite race of the meet was the mens 800m final where this year’s NCAA 1500m champion Clayton Murphy perfectly executed his race strategy to take the US title over the favorite Boris Berian. I am now a Clayton Murphy fan and he is the future of US middle distance running.
Tracktown is a great place to visit especially during big meets such as the Olympic Trials, US Championships, or NCAA Championships. In 2021 Hayward Field will be hosting the IAAF World Championships so you should think about getting tickets to that. Eugene is all about track and offers hundreds of miles of walking and jogging paths and trails all across the city and the neighboring city of Springfield. The most popular of these trails sits in Alton Baker Park near the University of Oregon and is made of tree bark chips. The trail is named after the late great University of Oregon runner and 1972 Olympian Steve Prefontaine. Eugene is a great place. If you are a real track fan you need to go to Eugene and attend a meet at Hayward Field and experience Tracktown.
US Men Going to Rio
100: Justin Gatlin, Trayvon Bromell, Marvin Bracy
110H: Devon Allen, Ronnie Ash, Jeff Porter
200: Justin Gatlin, LaShawn Merritt, Ameer Webb
400: LaShawn Merritt, Gil Roberts, David Verburg
400H: Kerron Clement, Byron Robinson, Michael Tinsley
800: Clayton Murphy, Boris Berian, Charles Jock
1500: Matt Centrowitz, Robbie Andrews, Ben Blankenship
3K SC: Evan Jager, Hillary Bor, Donn Cabral
5K: Bernard Lagat, Hassan Mead, Paul Chelimo
10K: Galen Rupp, Shadrack Kipchirchir, Leonard Korir
Decathlon: Ashton Eaton, Jeremy Taiwo, Zach Ziemek
High Jump: Erik Kynard, Bradley Adkins, Ricky Robertson (Adkins and Robertson were third and sixth but the top two men behind Kynard with the standard)
Shot Put: Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill
Discus Throw: Mason Finley, Tavis Bailey, Andrew Evans
Triple Jump: Will Claye, Christian Taylor, Chris Benard
Long Jump: Jeff Henderson, Jarrion Lawson, Marquis Dendy (Will Claye was third but doesn’t have the Olympic standard)
Pole Vault: Sam Kendricks, Cale Simmons, Logan Cunningham
Javelin Throw: Cyrus Hostetler, Sam Crouser, Sean Furey (Curtis Thompson and Riley Dolezal were second and third but don’t have the Olympic standard)
Marathon: Galen Rupp, Meb Keflezighi, Jared Ward
50K Racewalk: John Nunn
US Women Going to Rio
100: English Gardner, Tori Bowie, Tianna Bartoletta
100H: Brianna Rollins, Kristi Castlin, Nia Ali
200: Tori Bowie, Deajah Stevens, Jenna Prandini
400: Allyson Felix, Phyllis Francis, Natasha Hastings
400H: Dalilah Muhammad, Ashley Spencer, Sydney McLaughlin
800: Kate Grace, Ajee Wilson, Chrishuna Williams
1500: Jenny Simpson, Shannon Rowbury, Brenda Martinez
3K SC: Emma Coburn, Colleen Quigley, Courtney Frerichs
5K: Shelby Houlihan, Kim Conley, Abbey D’Agostino (winner Molly Huddle and fourth-place finisher Emily Infeld are only running the 10K at the Olympics)
10K: Molly Huddle, Emily Infeld, Marielle Hall
Pole Vault: Jenn Suhr, Sandi Morris, Lexi Weeks
Discus Throw: Whitney Ashley, Shelbi Vaughan, Kelsey Card
Long Jump: Brittney Reese, Tianna Bartoletta, Janay DeLoach
High Jump: Chaunte Lowe, Vashti Cunningham, Inika McPherson
Hammer Throw: Amber Campbell, Gwen Berry, Deanna Price
Javelin Throw: Maggie Malone, Kara Winger, Brittany Borman (Hannah Carson was second but doesn’t have the standard)
20K Racewalk: Maria Michta-Coffey, Miranda Melville
Triple Jump: Keturah Orji, Christina Epps, Andrea Geubelle
Shot Put: Michelle Carter, Raven Saunders, Felisha Johnson
Heptathlon: Barbara Nwaba, Heather Miller-Koch, Kendell Williams
Marathon: Amy Cragg, Desi Linden, Shalane Flanagan