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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 8 Preview
Posted July 6th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV coverage: live on NBC from 7 to 9 p.m. (EDT)
Finals on Day 8 of the US Olympic Trials include the women’s 20k walk, pole vault, 1500 meters, 200 meters, and 100m hurdles, and the men’s discus throw, triple jump, javelin throw, 200 meters, 110m hurdles and 1500 meters.
In the men’s discus throw, John Godina is seeking a spot on his fourth Olympic team, and he has a reasonable chance to make it. The favorites are Ian Waltz and Jarred Rome, who have been trading wins all year. Defending national champ Michael Robertson defeated Godina at the Reebok Grand Prix and could keep him off the team.
The women’s pole vault features one of the stars of the meet, Jenn Stuczynski. The next two Olympic team spots are most likely to go to Jillian Schwartz and Chelsea Johnson, but several other women have a good chance. It would be the comeback of the meet if Stacy Dragila were to finish in the top three, considering the two years she has spent undergoing surgeries and out of pole vaulting–and recent result suggest she’s got as good a chance as anyone.
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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 7 Preview
Posted July 5th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV coverage: live on NBC from 5 to 6 p.m. (EDT)
Finals on day 6 of the US Olympic Trials include the men’s 20k walk, high jump and steeplechase and the women’s hammer throw and shot put.
In the men’s high jump, Dusty Jonas of Nebraska would be the favorite if going only by best marks made this year, as he has jumped an inch higher than any other entrant. But results of both the NCAA Championships (where he lost in an upset) and qualifying here (he needed two jumps at 2.15m and three at 2.20m) do not inspire confidence. The title will likely come down to Andra Manson (this year’s US indoor champ and a bronze medalist at the World Indoors) and Jesse Williams (runner-up at US Indoors). Collegian Scott Sellers also has a good chance to make the team. All four of these athletes are Texans.
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Faces in Races: Abdi, Rupp, Meb highlight Men’s 10000m
Posted July 4th, 2008 at 4:47 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
The men’s 10000m final at the 2008 US Olympic Trials should be a wide-open affair, with several men who could potentially take the title. Leading the way will be Abdi Abdirahman, whose 27:16.98 at the Prefontaine Classic a few weeks ago makes him a slight favorite. He will have to battle with 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, 2007 USATF 10k national runner-up Galen Rupp, Colorado alum Jorge Torres, and rising stars Josh Rohatinsky and Scotty Bauhs. Dathan Ritzenhein, a 2008 Olympian in the marathon, is also entered in the race but has been focusing on marathon preparation.
As in the other races, the top three finishers in this race who have achieved the A standard will make the US team in the 10000m. The A standard in this event is 27:47:31, which has been achieved by six athletes (Abdi, Rupp, Meb, Torres, Ed Moran, James Carney) in the qualifying window. These six athletes can afford to focus on place while the other competitors must keep an eye on the clock to see their Olympic dreams fulfilled. Below we profile three of the competitors (Abdi, Meb, Rupp) and offer some thoughts on how we think this race will play out.
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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 6 Preview
Posted July 4th, 2008 at 9:52 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV Coverage: live on USA from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (EDT)
Finals on day six of the US Olympic Trials include the women’s high jump and 5,000 meters and the men’s hammer throw and 10,000 meters.
In the men’s hammer throw, the only name you need to know is A.G. Kruger. No other American has the Olympic “A” standard, which makes him the prohibitive favorite. Likely to be second is Kruger’s training partner Kibwe Johnson.
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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 5 Preview
Posted July 3rd, 2008 at 4:28 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV coverage: live on USA from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (EDT)
Finals on day five of the US Olympic Trials are the women’s long jump, steeplechase and 400 meters and the men’s 400 meters.
Double NCAA champ (indoors and out) Brittney Reese of Ole Miss is the heavy favorite in the long jump. An upset win by heptathlete Hyleas Fountain should not be discounted as a possibility. The third Olympic spot will most likely go to Funmi Jimoh or Grace Upshaw.
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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 4 Preview
Posted June 30th, 2008 at 10:11 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV Coverage: live on USA from
11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (EDT)
The final events on the fourth day of the US Olympic Trials are the second day of the decathlon, the women’s javelin throw and 800 meters, and the men’s 800 and 5000 meters.
In the decathlon things are generally going according to form, with Bryan Clay leading and Trey Hardee and Tom Pappas close behind. Clay’s strength is the first day while Pappas’ is the second, so watch for the competition to tighten. All three are well ahead of everyone else…but strange things can and do happen.
In the women’s javelin, only two entrants–Kim Kreiner and Kara Patterson–have the Olympic “A” standard. Not only does this confer favorite status, it makes their selection to the Olympic team fairly safe.
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Faces in Races: Lagat, Teg, Solinsky and Curtis Look to Dominate Men’s 5000m
Posted June 30th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
The men’s 5000m features several potential Beijing medalists and is one of the most wide-open events of the 2008 US Olympic Trials. Again the A standard will be in play, as seven finalists have run 13:21.50 or better (Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Asmeron, Lagat, Vaughn, Dobson, Riley) in the qualifying window. The US Olympic team will be comprised of the top three finishers who have attained the A standard, either in the final or in a previous race. This sets up a dynamic where the aforementioned men can run for place while the rest of the field needs to ensure an honest pace. With several studs who have not yet achieved the A standard and the impressive list of those who have, the men’s 5000m final promises to be one of the most exciting races of the 2008 US Olympic Trials.
Velow we take a closer look at four of the favorites in this race: Bernard Lagat, Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky, and Bobby Curtis. To reward readers who get to the end of this article there will be some poorly thought out, undoubtedly biased, and completely unofficial picks for this showdown.
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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 3 Preview
Posted June 29th, 2008 at 1:00 PM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV coverage: live on NBC from 7-8 p.m. (EDT)
Event finals on the third day of the US Olympic Trials are the first day of the decathlon, the women’s triple jump, discus and 400 hurdles, and the men’s pole vault, long jump, 400 hurdles and 100 meters.
The decathlon favorites are past Olympians Bryan Clay and Tom Pappas. Both were in Osaka for last year’s World Championships and both were unable to finish due to injury. Clay recovered enough to win this year’s World Indoor title in the heptathlon, while Pappas’ status is less clear. The third spot is expected to be a battle between Trey Hardee and Paul Terek. Hardee has the best score in the nation this year (8371 at the Texas Relays) while Terek might be most famous for twice competing on the Japanese game show Sasuke (broadcast in the US as Ninja Warrior on the G4 network).
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U.S. Olympic Track Trials:
Day 2 Preview
Posted June 28th, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Jesse Squire
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
TV Coverage: live on NBC, 8-9 p.m.
Finals on day 2 of the U.S. Olympic Trials are the second day of the heptathlon, the men’s shot put, and the women’s 100 meters.
The heptathlon has so far gone according to form. Hyleas Fountain set PRs in three of the four events, one of them an American heptathlon record (the 100 hurdles, previously held by Jackie Joyner-Kersee).
The men’s shot put is a three-way battle. Adam Nelson, Reese Hoffa and Christian Cantwell are without a doubt the best in the world and it is unthinkable that they would not be our Olympic team.
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Interesting Possibilities in Tonight’s Women’s 10,000m Final
Posted June 27th, 2008 at 6:00 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
The fan and media focus at tonight’s women’s 10,000m final at the U.S. Olympic Trials here is rightly on the event’s two top stars: American record holder Shalane Flanagan and last year’s IAAF World Championships bronze medalist Kara Goucher.
But, because the field has only four Olympic Games “A” standard holders, several other women are likely to be pushing the pace because it is their only hope of making it to Bejing. Unlike in previous Olympic years, U.S. athletes will not be allowed to register qualifying times after the Trials have concluded. Also, if a “B” standard holder should win the race, she won’t be able to earn a Beijing berth because the qualifying rules state that as long as there at least two “A” standard holders behind them in the field, those athletes will be nominated to the Olympic team ahead of the “B” winner. For athletes without the “A” standard going into tonight’s race, it’s do or die.
The four “A” standard holders — Flanagan, Goucher, Molly Huddle and Katie McGregor — have no incentive to push the pace, and it is unlikely that they will do much leading tonight. However, other strong athletes who need to make the standard tonight (31:45.00 or better), will have little choice but to make the race.
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On November 21, 2008
Concerned said:
These were the events happening in Colorado in voting for a new Colorado USATF president and...