The 1992 US Olympic Trials 800m final was an incredible race and thrilling to witness inside Tad Gormley Stadium. Mark Everett and especially Jose Parilla lagged woefully behind yet made the team with huge moves. Thankfully there are videos to keep my memory fresh.
You’re right! I had forgotten about that. Wejo finished 12 seconds behind Alan Culpepper for third in 2001 and just 3 seconds behind Dan Browne in 2003. But he beat Abdi!
Interesting that 80% of them were in the past 4 years, yet these aside from the 1500m aren't 'super spike' events. Seems people are just getting faster, in everything. Actually people aren't getting faster so much as there are just more fast people, making the 4th fastest times nearly as competitive as the fastest time.
Yes, Tamirat Tola did it last year in the marathon. Has an American done it?
In 1920 Allen Woodring was an alternate on our 200m team, obviously he could only compete if an injury or illness, yep illness, so he got his shot and made the best of it beating the great Charles Paddock to win the Olympc gold.
In 1920 Allen Woodring was an alternate on our 200m team, obviously he could only compete if an injury or illness, yep illness, so he got his shot and made the best of it beating the great Charles Paddock to win the Olympc gold.
I never knew about Woodring; thanks for sharing! I just read his bio, written by Ulf Lagerström. Woodring actually finished 5th at the Trials, so he needed two guys ahead of him to withdraw to get a chance. The 4th place guy, George Massengale, came down with an acute case of rheumatism, which allowed Woodring to be selected to make the trip to Antwerp as an alternate. Then Jackson Scholz withdrew in Antwerp.
Another interesting part of that story as written by Lagerström: Before the race, it looked like lady luck had changed her mind again. Woodring’s track shoes had split and were useless and he did not have another pair that fit. He had to borrow a pair, though with longer spikes than those he always used. He did not have time to file the points down, and Woodring became worried. But he soon found that on the soggy track those spikes gave him the footing he really needed.
Alyssa Jones jumps a PB on her final jump to make the World Championship standard and tie for 3rd place ... except her 2nd best jump was 3" shorter than Quanesha Burks and she loses out on the tiebreaker.
Alyssa Jones jumps a PB on her final jump to make the World Championship standard and tie for 3rd place ... except her 2nd best jump was 3" shorter than Quanesha Burks and she loses out on the tiebreaker.
But Tara COULD win the DL Final. Let’s hope because all 4 are deserving.
The longest 4th place finish in the long jump in US championship history was 6.97 by Whitney Gipson at the US Olympic trials in 2012, but this is the 2nd furthest 4th place.
While anticipating the upcoming US Championships, one of the things I've been wondering about is who will be the toughest-luck finishers, defined as someone who produced an excellent mark but still missed out on qualifying for the team.
With that in mind, I researched the fastest 4th place finishers at the US Championships since 1980 for men and women in flat events from the 100m - 1500m. My findings are below and in the next post. Please let me know if I've made any errors or omissions. Additions for other events are welcome.
Ladies first:
100m - 10.91 by Tamari Davis last year (3rd was 10.89); although Davis has the fastest 4th place time I found, the Sprint Queen of US Tough Luck 4th Place Finishers is undoubtedly Jeneba Tarmoh, who twice finished 4th in 10.93 (missing out on 3rd by 0.02 in 2013 and by just 0.01 in 2015). Notably, these tough-luck finishes followed her tie with Allyson Felix at the 2012 Olympic Trials after Tarmoh had initially been declared the third-place finisher. Tarmoh decided to cede the third spot to Felix.
200m - 21.98 by Tamara Clark in 2021 (3rd was 21.95)
400m - 50.07 by Kaylyn Brown last year (3rd was 49.78)
800m - 1:58.35 by Allie Wilson in 2022 (3rd was 1:57.96)
1500m - 3:56.75 by Sinclaire Johnson last year (3rd was 3:55.99); Johnson's time would have been the 4th fastest in US history prior to that race!
Looking ahead to this weekend: will we see a woman run sub-50 in the 400m and not make the team?
Aaliyah Butler, Sydney Mclaughlin are locks, Who will 3 and 4 Be?
That was the first race that came to my mind as well. It wasn't just that Julia Lucas barely got 4th (lost by .03), but also that Kim Conley just barely hit the world qualifying standard by .21, which she likely wouldn't have hit if Lucas hadn't pushed the pace towards the end.
Trayvon Bromell with a new U.S. 100m championship 4th place record of 9.84, missing out on 3rd by just 0.01.
Yeah that was brutal…granted absolutely perfect condition and more like a 9.90 with no winds. He’ll be in the relay pool, but will Coleman I wonder. Imagining with full health team would be T’Mars (!)/Bromell to Kenny B to Lindsey to Lyles.
About that men's 800m race at the 1984 Olympic Trials:
I highly recommend reading this excellent piece by Track & Field News writer Jeff Hollobaugh. Here's an excerpt:
The results, when the athletes saw them, were difficult to comprehend. Jones had won in an American Record 1:43.74. Gray, in second, produced the same clocking and thus tied Jones‘ new record. They had both skipped completely past the 1:44s in their leap from national class to world class. “When I looked up at the clock, I couldn’t believe the time,” recalls Gray. Third, in the closest of verdicts, went to unheralded Marshall. He and Robinson both clocked 1:43.92, just 1/100th of a second slower than Rick Wohlhuter’s American Record at the start of the race. Marshall had skipped over not only the 1:44s, but the 1:45s. “I thought the scoreboard was broken,” he says. Veteran Robinson could only have been stunned at the thought that the fastest race of his storied career didn’t put him on the Olympic team.
To that point in history, only 21 times had the 1:44 barrier been breached, and never by more than two men in one race. That four would do so at the U.S. Olympic Trials made the world sit up and take notice.
100m - 9.89 by Kenny Bednarek in 2021 (3rd was 9.86)
200m - 19.86 by Fred Kerley in 2023 (3rd was 19.85, and Noah Lyles wasn't even in the race!); note: Kerley also finished 4th in 19.90 in 2021
400m - 44.40 by Vernon Norwood in 2019, although his luck turned when Michael Norman won the Diamond League, which opened up a 4th spot for Team USA; Norwood also finished 4th in 44.47 last year
800m - 1:43.92 by James Robinson way back in 1984! This one deserves its own post. See below.
1500m - 3:31.78 by Vincent Ciattei last year in a race that saw 8 men break the former US championships record!
Looking ahead to this weekend: might we see someone run 1:42 and not make the 800m team?
Another 4th place finish for Vernon Norwood this year, once again in 44.47.
