Allen Johnson - US Trials (© Getty Images)
Except for one notable upset, the US Olympic Trials ended on Sunday (18 July) with few surprises, though many performances ranked high on this year’s statistical lists.
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Trammell hurdles error-free 13.09 PB
The single event which deviated from the form chart was the men’s 110m Hurdles, in which four-time World Champion Allen Johnson barely scraped onto his third Olympic team with a third-place finish.
Sydney and Paris silver medallist Terrence Trammell moved away from the blocks fastest, with Duane Ross right behind and Johnson trailing the two frontrunners noticeably after nicking one of the early barriers.
Trammell powered ahead, error-free, to win in a PB 13.09, as Duane Ross, who continues to improve with every outing after an injury-plagued early season, kept Johnson at bay to take second in a season-best 13.21. Johnson did keep his Athens assignment alive by clinging to third in 13.25, as Ron Bramlett’s 13.33 could not score the upset.
Third fastest in the world this summer
With his performance, Trammell becomes the number-three performer this year on the world list. Only two hours earlier in the semifinals, he had lowered his PB with an unchallenged 13.14, presaging his victory in the final.
Despite having a career day, Trammell was not totally happy. “I wanted to really have a good start,” he said, “but I was in slow motion and didn’t come back to it until hurdle seven.”
Johnson meanwhile was offering no excuses. “I haven’t been injured,” he said, in answer to those who had observed him limping off the track after Saturday’s quarterfinals. “And I haven’t not been hurdling [double-negative intentional],” he said. “I honestly don’t know which hurdle I hit. Probably the second or third one. I just regrouped and ran the best I could.”
Devers - most ever Trials wins
Gail Devers, the favourite in the women’s 100 Hurdles, came through on top but only after surviving a challenge by Joanna Hayes.
Devers moved away from the start quickest, as usual, but through the first five hurdles, Joanna Hayes and Melissa Morrison moved up well and ran evenly with her. With two barriers left, it appeared that Hayes moved slightly ahead, but on the run-in, Devers came back to claim her tenth US title (and fourth Trials crown) in 12.55, separated by only two-thousandths from second-place Hayes with the same time, as a 1.6 headwind precluded even faster times. (Earlier in the afternoon, Hayes had won her semifinal in a PB 12.50, making her the third-fastest US hurdler ever.)
Morrison was almost upended by Danielle Carruthers running on the outside, but the Sydney bronze medallist posted a season best 12.61 to edge Carruthers at 12.62.
With her fourth Trials victory, Devers joins Madeline Manning (800 metres) and Maren Seidler (shot put) as having the most Trials win in a single event. Devers also will be competing on her fifth consecutive Olympic team, the first being in 1988.
Dragila – 4.75 vault
Stacy Dragila’s win in the women’s Pole Vault sends her to Athens in defence of the title she won in Sydney four years ago in the event’s first Olympic apperance.
With a most ill-conceived set of height progressions - moving up only five centimetres at a time after 4.30 - the competition was most confusing to the fans - not to mention jumpers - who were required to pay rapt attention to keep the accounting in line with all of the expected passing. Dragila herself passed almost as much as she jumped, finally winning outright at an Olympic Trials record 4.65 after watching the last competitor exit at 4.60.
A third-attempt 4.75, further raising the Trials record, preceded three unsuccessful attempts at 4.89, a would-be World Record.
“I was feeling THAT good today,” said Dragila of her record tries. “I wanted to see if I had it in my bag of goods, but then the wind started shifting. I gave it a good shot.”
Jillian Schwartz and Kellie Suttle took the next two Athens spots at 4.55, as Chelsea Johnson—daughter of Munich bronze medallist Jan Johnson—finished fourth at 4.50.
Crawford holds on for 19.99 win
Although he has concentrated on the 100 metres this season - and will be competing in that event in Athens - Shawn Crawford over the last three days showed that he has not lost his touch in the 200 metres.
In today’s final, Bernard Williams appeared to run the first part of curve fastest, but Crawford quickly took over the lead position coming into the straightaway, with Justin Gatlin also part of the front running trio.
Gatlin put on an impressive move - even more so considering his foot condition (see quote below) - with fifty metres remaining, but Crawford held on to win in 19.99, with Gatlin right behind in 20.01, against a 0.7 headwind.
Williams sagged on the run-in and barely held off the furious close of Paris silver medallist Darvis Patton, 20.30 to 20.32.
Second-placer Gatlin revealed that “in the semis [Saturday], I tore some skin off the bottom of my big toe. Last night, I had to do a lot of surgery, tape it up, and put alcohol on it. I realized that I either had to cut off my toe and sew it back on later, or just suck it up and do it.”
Winner Crawford sounded a slightly unfulfilled after the four rounds. “It feels good to go under twenty twice, but it would have been better to do it four times. That will come soon.”
Lee runs 22.36 PB but Felix triumphs with 22.28 clocking
Marion Jones’ withdrawal from the Women’s 200 metres yesterday means that a new champion will be crowned in Athens. Allyson Felix has already tossed her hat into one of those Olympic rings with a splendid 22.28 win.
Torri Edwards ran an intense opening fifty meters and came off the curve marginally in front of Felix, with former world 200 champion Inger Miller right behind. Felix powered strongly into the finish to claim the win in a season-best 22.28, despite a 1.2 headwind.
A determined final eighty metres by Muna Lee from her position along the curb brought her to second place in a PB 22.36, as early leader Edwards held on for third with 22.39.
“I’ve had to be patient all year,” said the still-eighteen-year-old Felix later. “It was such a different season from last year. Last year, I ran so many races that by the time the World Championships came, I was worn out [and made it only through one round in Paris]. This year, I didn’t want that to happen again.”
The performances by Felix and Lee are respectively the second and fourth fastest in the world this season.
Nieto books Athens berth with 2.33 leap
The men’s High Jump saw three jumpers with no prior Olympic experience selected for Athens. Jamie Nieto, the defending US champion, won the competition at a PB 2.33, whereupon he ripped off his singlet and attempted to do cartwheels in front of his hometown Sacramento fans. Reclothed, he then closed out the competition with a single attempt at a would-be national record 2.41.
Matt Hemingway, who finished fourth in the Atlanta Trials, received a team nomination with an impressive 2.30 clearance for second, and Germany-based Tora Harris took the final spot on a countback at 2.27 with Keith Moffatt.
Charles Austin, the Atlanta gold medallist and at age 36 still the US record holder after thirteen years, placed seventh at 2.24.
Rome’s last round toss takes Discus
Casey Malone’s leadoff 64.47 appeared to be the winning throw in the men’s Discus until things heated up in the final round. Jarred Rome tossed 65.77 on his last try to move from third to first and take the Trials title, while Ian Waltz followed with 64.69 to move ahead of Malone into second. Like the high jumpers, all three discus throwers are Olympic neophytes.
It was an unexpected finish for Rome, who had never placed higher than fifth in a US championships prior to today.
The top qualifier from Friday’s preliminaries, Paris finalist Carl Brown, finished a distant fourth with 61.99.
Webb unchallenged
After two laps of the men’s 1500 metres, US list leader Alan Webb sped away from the pack and was unchallenged in his 3:36.13 win.
America’s new middle-distance hero reached the 800 in 1:57.25, and tossed in a 55.23 lap heading into the 1200 enroute to his win.
At the moment, Webb is the only American holding the A-standard. Other runners with the B-standard under consideration must run 3:36.20 or faster by 9 August to earn an Olympic nomination.
Women’s 1500 - Tollefson edges Toomey
The women’s 1500 metres lost its only bit of name recognition with the withdrawal of Suzy Favor Hamilton due to hamstring problems just before the start.
Carrie Tollefson was the workhorse, leading the race virtually the entire way. At the bell (3:04.96), Tollefson took off on the penultimate curve and began to string out the field.
On the final straight, Jen Toomey, who had moved up on the final backstretch, edged slightly ahead of Tollefson with Jenelle Deatherage putting on a last-ditch charge behind the lead pair. As the finish line approached, and with both of the two front runners noticeably running out of energy, Tollefson edged ahead of Toomey at the final moment for the win, 4:08.32 to 4:08.43.
Deatherage’s quest for third was scuttled by the late surge of Amy Rudolph who took third, 4:08.57 to 4:08.71.
Though giving the fans an exciting race, none of the competitors except for Marla Runyan, who did not finish, possesses an A- or B-norm for Athens.
Women’s 20km Race Walk – 41 year old Vaill books place to Athens
In the women’s 20-Kilometre Race Walk, Teresa Vaill, Michelle Rohl, and Joanne Dow formed the lead group up through 5K, at which point Vaill sped away to a lead which she gradually increased up until she crossed the finish line in 1:35:57, with a clean slate from the course judges.
Rohl, in second place after the 5K break point, was forty seconds behind at the 15K mark, but at 18K, the four-time US champion (including the 2000 Trials) and three-time Olympian received her third “red card” and was disqualified.
Joanne Dow, who finished fourth in the 2000 Trials, ended up in second with 1:38:42, as Bobbi Chapman placed third in 1:39:01.
Although Dow is the only race walker with the A-standard for Athens, Vaill, a possessor of the B-norm, will get the team nomination because of her Trials win.
It represents the end of a long quest by Vaill, who competed for the fourth time at the Trials before achieving her goal. At age 41, she will be the oldest member to ever be part of a US Olympic team.
Ed Gordon for the IAAF
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