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LetsRun.com's Recap of Day 2 of US Olympic Track & Field Trials - Everything But The 800 Semis Womens 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 womens 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, "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
Mens 100: Sick, Sick Sprinting With 2 Round to Come The first two rounds of the mens 100 were dynamic and full of lots of twists and turns. As mentioned in the womens 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 1Walter Dix sent a message in the very first heat of the day, winning in 9.96, but the main topic of conversation was Tyson Gays 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
The United States has the richest sprinting tradition in the world, but the mens 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. JMee 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 Mens Shot Put: Hoffa, Cantwell, and Nelson All Advance One of the United States best events heading into the Olympics is the mens 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 Womens Heptathlon:
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
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