Lane Community College’s Dakarai Hightower clears 7 feet ¼ inch in the high jump qualifying, which was contested in a steady rain. He advanced to Sunday’s final. Photo by Dillon Vibes
It was a real Oregon track meet Friday at the U.S. Olympic trials, with the majority of races accompanied by unrelenting downpours. Puddles formed in lane one and athletes walked off the track soaked to the bone, but it didn’t prevent another set of record performances and upsets at Hayward Field. Read our pieces on individual events and athletes below.
Kylee O’Connor covered the men’s discus for DyeStat, where Wyoming grad Mason Finley won the competition with a throw of 208 feet, 1 inch, followed by Travis Bailey in second, and Andrew Evans in third. Finley said the rain did affect his performance, and there were 28 total fouls out of 60 attempts for the field.
Tori Bowie of Mississippi advanced to the semifinals of the 200. The University of Mississippi alum already has a spot on the Olympic team after coming in third in the finals of the 100. Isiah Young, also from Mississippi, failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s 200 by .28 seconds, coming in third in his heat. Emma Decker covered the events for two Mississippi newspapers, the Clarion-Ledger and the Hattiesburg American.
Keeler McJunkin followed the women’s 100-meter hurdles final, where nine of the top 12 times in the world this year have been posted by Americans. Brianna Rollins came in first with a time of 12.34, and joining her on the Olympic team are second place finisher Kristi Castlin and Nia Ali in third. It was a finish that surprised the field, as Keni Harrison, who had posted the top three times in the world this year and was a favorite to make the team, finished sixth.
The Oregon Ducks put on a show on their home turf, with eight competitors in the men’s 1,500 semifinals either current or former Ducks. Six qualified for the final on Sunday. The ones who did not make it were current Oregon athletes Matthew Maton and Sam Prakel. Isaac Gibson has the story.
The high schoolers came out to show what they’re made of on day eight, with four prep athletes competing, two of whom qualified for final rounds. Romaine Soh talked to Christina Aragon and Kate Murphy, who both failed to advance to the 1,500 final. In the men’s 200 semifinal, Vista Murrieta High School senior Michael Norman beat Justin Gatlin to the line by 0.02 seconds. Norman and fellow prep competitor Noah Lyles will run in the finals of the men’s 200 Sunday.
And away from the track, event organizers have worked hard to implement sustainable practices into the trials — reusable water bottles, compost bins and the like. Hannah Bonnie explored efforts to make the Olympic trials green.
