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LetsRun.com's Recap of Day 2 of US Olympic Track & Field Trials - Everything But The 800 Semis 
Women's 100 Semis & Finals, Women's and Men's 400 hurdle semis, Men's 100 1st Round & Quarters, Men's Shot Put, & Women's Heptathlon

by: LetsRun.com
June 28, 2008
*
Results
*
LRC Men's 800 Semi Recaps: Krummenacker, Hernandez Out, Craziness in Women's 800
Previous:
*
Day 1 Women's 10k: Flanagan, over Goucher but Amy Yoder-Begley Steals the Show
*LRC Day 1 800/5k Prelims: Men's 5k Semis: Alysia Johnson Out, Khadevis Robinson Struggles

Women’s 100 Semifinals:

Hayward Field is often best known as a haven for distance running, but it has been no stranger to great performances in the sprints and field events through the years. And on Saturday at the Olympic Trials, the crowd was treated to a series of great sprinting efforts. On a hot day that had solid, but (mostly) not illegal breezes, Marshevet Hooker backed up her 10.76 (wind-aided) performance from yesterday's quarterfinals with another windy sub-10.90 in the semis, this time running 10.89. Torri Edwards, a multiple time World Championships medalist, ran a very impressive 10.78 that was wind-legal and a Hayward Field record. With the new face of women’s sprinting, Allyson Felix, back in third and given lane 8 for the final, the fight for the right to go to Beijing was shaping up to be quite a battle.

Heat  1 Semi-Finals   Wind: 3.2
  1 Marshevet Hooker             adidas                   10.89Q
  2 Muna Lee                     Nike                     10.91Q
  3 Lauryn Williams              Nike                     10.92Q 10.912
  4 Angela Williams              Nike                     10.92Q 10.913
  5 Bianca Knight                adidas                   11.09
  6 Gloria Asumnu                adidas                   11.13
  7 Alexis Weatherspoon          unattached               11.24
  8 Alexis Joyce                 unattached               11.31
Heat  2 Semi-Finals   Wind: 1.8
  1 Torri Edwards                Nike                   S 10.78Q
  2 Mechelle Lewis               Nike                     10.97Q
  3 Allyson Felix                adidas                   11.00Q
  4 LaShaunte'a Moore            adidas                   11.03Q
  5 Carmelita Jeter              Nike                     11.05
  6 Me'Lisa Barber               adidas                   11.07  11.061
  7 Alexandria Anderson          unattached               11.07  11.065
  8 Shalonda Solomon             Reebok                   11.18

Finals: Muna Lee Surprises

With hot weather (temperatures were in the mid-90s) and a slight tailwind of 1.0, conditions were ripe for a great sprint race and the field delivered as the top five finishers were within .11 of each other. Many-time NCAA champion and 2004 Olympian Muna Lee came through with her first national title as a post-collegiate, setting a personal best in one of the most pressurized competitions in sport, the 100 at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Edwards came through in second and Lauryn Williams, who always seems to manage her best at big meets, finished third to earn a spot on the team. Hooker overcame a terrible, terrible start to finish fourth - a mere .03 from the team in third, while Felix finished fifth - likely good enough to be considered for the 4X100 relay team pool.


Allyson Felix Interview

After the race, we caught up with Felix and Hooker.

Felix was disappointed while Hooker was more upbeat.

Felix, "I'm definitely disappointed. The whole reason of running the 100 was to make the team but I can't get to down as I still have the 200 to go" 

Hooker, "I'm disappointed but I'm also happy that I finished where I finished because it could have been a lot lower down where I wouldn't have been an alternate. I felt like I got out really, really bad. One think I've learned with having a pretty slow start over most of my career is that you have to keep running and I knew that's what I had to do. I was glad with my performance. I'm excited that I'm an alternate; you never know if you'll get called up. I don't regret anything at all. I've had a great weekend, running sub-11 all weekend. I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Finals
  1 Muna Lee                     Nike                     10.85S  1.0
  2 Torri Edwards                Nike                     10.90S  1.0 10.894
  3 Lauryn Williams              Nike                     10.90S  1.0 10.897
  4 Marshevet Hooker             adidas                   10.93S  1.0
  5 Allyson Felix                adidas                   10.96   1.0
  6 Angela Williams              Nike                     11.02   1.0
  7 Mechelle Lewis               Nike                     11.08   1.0
  8 LaShaunte'a Moore            adidas                   11.22   1.0

Men’s 100: Sick, Sick Sprinting With 2 Round to Come

The first two rounds of the men’s 100 were dynamic and full of lots of twists and turns. As mentioned in the women’s recap, the conditions were nearly perfect for sprinting at Hayward Field with the temperatures in the mid-90s and a slight tailwind hovering just below the legal limit all afternoon.

Qualifying: Walter Dix Sub 10.00 in Round 1

Walter Dix sent a message in the very first heat of the day, winning in 9.96, but the main topic of conversation was Tyson Gay’s near-failure to advance. Out VERY well, Gay clearly misjudged the finish and eased up way too soon, running 10.14 to just qualify for the quarterfinals.

Heat  1 Preliminaries   Wind: 1.7
  1 Walter Dix                   Florida State             9.96Q
  2 Ivory Williams               Nike                     10.07Q
  3 Kendall Stevens              unattached               10.13Q
  4 Trindon Holliday             L S U                    10.15Q 10.146
  5 Michael Rodgers              unattached               10.15q 10.150
  6 Shawn Crawford               Nike                     10.17q 10.170
  7 Jeff Laynes                  unattached               10.37
  8 Demi Omole                   Reebok                   10.49
Heat  2 Preliminaries   Wind: 1.8
  1 Travis Padgett               unattached               10.06Q
  2 Jeffery Demps                unattached               10.12Q 10.118
  3 Leroy Dixon                  Nike                     10.16Q 10.160
  4 Rubin Williams               Tennessee                10.18Q
  5 Mickey Grimes                Nike                     10.26q 10.258
  6 Jeremy Hall                  Florida                  10.26q 10.259
  7 Evander Wells                Tennessee                10.28
 -- Dabryan Blanton              unattached                 DNS
Heat  3 Preliminaries   Wind: 1.4
  1 Darvis Patton                adidas                   10.04Q
  2 Wallace Spearmon             Nike                     10.12Q 10.117
  3 John Capel                   unattached               10.16Q 10.151
  4 Mardy Scales                 unattached               10.16Q 10.155
  5 J-Mee Samuels                Arkansas                 10.17q 10.168
  6 Teddy Williams               Tx-San Antonio           10.27q
  7 Jason Heard                  unattached               10.32
 -- Joshua Johnson               unattached                 DNS
Heat  4 Preliminaries   Wind: 0.8
  1 Rodney Martin                Nike                     10.10Q
  2 Rae Edwards                  Nike                     10.13Q 10.127
  3 Mark Jelks                   Nike                     10.13Q 10.129
  4 Tyson Gay                    adidas                   10.14Q 10.131
  5 Xavier Carter                Nike                     10.14q 10.133
  6 Chrisdon Hargrett            adidas                   10.19q
  7 Preston Perry                unattached               10.28
  8 Carlos Moore                 Cheetahs Intl.           10.33

Quaterfinals: Six Sub-10, Yes Six, American Record for Gay

Tyson Gay
Tyson Gay 9.77
by photorun.net

The United States has the richest sprinting tradition in the world, but the men’s 100 quarterfinals were ridiculous even by American standards. 18 runners (all with legally allowable wind) broke 10.10 and even running 10.09 did not guarantee advancement to the semifinals! Most impressive was Gay, who made up for his near-elimination in the first round with an American record of 9.77 in the first quarterfinal heat. Letting up again (but much closer to the finish line this time), Gay seemed completely within himself and ready to run even faster. He admitted as much afterwards as he told us. "It felt real easy. I felt I could have run faster."

Finishing second in his heat was high schooler Jeffery Demps, who ran 10.01, in the process tying the world junior record, breaking Dix's American junior record and setting a new all-time high school record. Also looking good were Travis Padgett, who won the second heat in 9.89 and heat three winner Darvis Patton, who also ran 9.89. In all, six men broke 10.00!

Fast guys that were left out of the semis included Shawn Crawford, the 2004 Olympic Champion at 200 meters and an Olympian in the 100, who ran a very respectable 10.09. J’Mee Samuels (who had his U.S. high school record broken today by Demps) of Arkansas also ran a 10.09 but did not advance. Unbelievable. Remember that in 2003, Kim Collins won the world title in 10.07.

Below we give you the finishing times from the quarters and after that we give you some quotes from some of the top names:
Heat  1 Quarter-Finals   Wind: 1.6
  1 Tyson Gay                    adidas                  A 9.77Q
  2 Jeffery Demps                unattached               10.01Q
  3 Walter Dix                   Florida State            10.02Q 10.011
  4 Leroy Dixon                  Nike                     10.02Q 10.018
  5 Michael Rodgers              unattached               10.07q 10.063
  6 Wallace Spearmon             Nike                     10.07q 10.069
  7 J-Mee Samuels                Arkansas                 10.09  10.088
  8 Teddy Williams               Tx-San Antonio           10.24
Heat  2 Quarter-Finals   Wind: 1.6
  1 Travis Padgett               unattached              T 9.89Q 9.884
  2 Rodney Martin                Nike                      9.95Q
  3 Mark Jelks                   Nike                      9.99Q
  4 Chrisdon Hargrett            adidas                   10.12Q 10.113
  5 Kendall Stevens              unattached               10.12  10.114
  6 Mardy Scales                 unattached               10.15
  7 Mickey Grimes                Nike                     10.22
  8 Rubin Williams               Tennessee                10.26  10.256
Heat  3 Quarter-Finals   Wind: 1.6
  1 Darvis Patton                adidas                  T 9.89Q 9.888
  2 Ivory Williams               Nike                      9.94Q
  3 Xavier Carter                Nike                     10.00Q
  4 John Capel                   unattached               10.06Q 10.053
  5 Rae Edwards                  Nike                     10.06q 10.056
  6 Trindon Holliday             L S U                    10.09q 10.083
  7 Shawn Crawford               Nike                     10.09  10.090
  8 Jeremy Hall                  Florida                  10.26  10.260

Wallace Spearmon barely advanced to the semis on time after running a very respectable 10.07. When we talked to him, he didn't know if he'd make the final. When asked what happened in his race, he said, "I was (caught) sitting in the blocks and I tried to run them down, but Tyson is fast. He's ready."

Walter Dix: "In the first round, I tried to come out clean. I wasn't focused on any one person. I was surprised when I ran 9.9 in the first round." We then asked him if he was trying to send a statement in the 1st round, "No I just come out clean. The start was so good, I dropped a fast time."

Jeff Demps:"It feels really good (to get the US Jr and HS record and tie the World Jr record) but at the same time I still have to stay focused and come out tomorrow and compete. We asked him what his goals were and he said,  "To have fun and do the best I can do." What is he going to try to do on Sunday, "I'm gonna try to break ten. If I do that, I'm going to come in here (to the media area) and give everybody a high five."

NCAA runner-up Travis Padgett on his 9.89:  "I felt pretty good. The conditions were right out there today - perfect weather, a fast track and an extreme competition level. I didn't expect to come out here and run that fast. What me and my coach have talked about was to come out here and try to get progressively faster through the rounds. Hopefully I'll come out here tomorrow and drop under (9.89) and keep running faster. I think the competition level is pushing everyone to run fast. The track is fast. We had a perfect tailwind; that had a lot to do with it."

Saturday Field Event Finals

Men’s Shot Put: Hoffa, Cantwell, and Nelson All Advance

One of the United States’ best events heading into the Olympics is the men’s shot put, where Adam Nelson, Reese Hoffa and Christian Cantwell boast the three best performances in the world. But the road to the Olympics has not been easy for Cantwell, as he finished fourth at the Trials in 2004 despite entering the meet with the best mark in the world. And again in 2004, his spot on the team was in jeopardy as he clung to third entering the final three throws. But this time around, he was up to the task, moving into second in the fifth round and remaining there with a final mark of 71-2 3/4. Two-time Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson was also in danger of missing out on a trip to Beijing but came through with a fourth round mark of 68-6 1/2. A little bit off, Nelson only had two legal marks. But the best thrower on the day was Reese Hoffa, who led throughout and produced a winning heave of 72-6 1/4, the second best mark in the world this year. Dan Taylor finished fourth in 68-3, missing out on the team by only three inches.

Finals
  1 Reese Hoffa                  New York A C            22.10m   72-06.25
      FOUL  20.91m  21.13m  FOUL  21.94m  22.10m
  2 Christian Cantwell           Nike                    21.71m   71-02.75
      20.78m  FOUL  20.48m  FOUL  21.24m  21.71m
  3 Adam Nelson                  Nike                    20.89m   68-06.50
      20.78m  FOUL  FOUL  20.89m  FOUL  FOUL
  4 Dan Taylor                   Nike                    20.80m   68-03.00
      20.80m  FOUL  FOUL  FOUL  20.75m  FOUL
  5 Russ Winger                  unattached              20.37m   66-10.00
      20.05m  FOUL  20.37m  FOUL  FOUL  FOUL
  6 Ryan Whiting                 Arizona State           20.36m   66-09.75
      20.36m  FOUL  20.01m  FOUL  19.95m  20.15m
  7 Noah Bryant                  unattached              20.08m   65-10.50
      19.69m  19.85m  19.96m  19.55m  FOUL  20.08m
  8 Cory Martin                  Auburn                  19.62m   64-04.50
      18.76m  19.62m  FOUL  FOUL  FOUL  19.28m
  9 Jamie Beyer                  unattached              19.20m   63-00.00
      FOUL  19.20m  19.19m
 10 Rhuben Williams              Shore A C               18.78m   61-07.50
      18.78m  18.77m  18.64m
 -- Garrett Johnson              unattached                FOUL
      FOUL  FOUL  FOUL
 -- Chris Figures                unattached                FOUL
      FOUL  FOUL  FOUL

Women’s Heptathlon:

Pickler
Diana Pickler With the 800
Pr to Make the Team

The multi-events are a test of endurance as much as they are a test of mastery over a variety of events. And at the 2008 Trials athletes were also tested by warm and challenging conditions. Nevertheless, the top four finishers managed to set personal bests and all bettered the Olympic A standard in what was a remarkable competition. Indeed, the top three spots were in doubt until the final steps of the last event, the 800. Going in to the last event, Virginia Johnson needed to beat Diana Pickler (a recent graduate of Washington State) by 1.5 seconds. Johnson did everything she could, winning the second heat in 2:15.8 ... but Pickler stuck with her throughout and PRed with a great run of 2:16.59 to end up with 6,257 points, a mere 10 points in front of Johnson. Four-time NCAA Champion Jacquelyn Johnson (recently of Arizona State) was a comfortable second with 6,347 points while Hyleas Fountain was dominant, winning five of seven events and setting personal bests in each on the way to an outstanding total of 6,667 points, the best in the world this year.

Complete results are here:

http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-TF/results/F40.asp

*Results
*
Saturday Photos
*
LRC  Day 2: 800 Semi Recaps: Chaos in Women's Semis, Jacob Hernandez, David Krummenacker out on Men's Side
*
Day 1 Women's 10k: Flanagan over Goucher but Amy Yoder-Begley Steals the Show
*LRC Day 1 800/5k Prelims:
Men's 5k Semis; 800s: Alysia Johnson Out, Khadevis Robinson Struggles


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