Women’s 200-meter final
This is the final event of the day and is scheduled for primetime, at 6:50 p.m. Sanya Richards-Ross, known more for her success in the 400 meters, posted the top time in Friday’s 200-meter semifinals (22.15 seconds). Southern California native Allyson Felix, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 200, finished first in her semifinal heat yesterday (22.30) and is considered a favorite alongside Richards-Ross. Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh, who were in different heats on Friday, finished within .001 seconds of each other. Both the American record and the world record for the women’s 200 meters was set on September 29, 1988, by Florence Griffith-Joyner (21.34).
Men’s 200-meter semifinal
Twenty-one competitors combine to form today’s semifinals, headlined by Wallace Spearmon Jr., who boasts the fastest official 200-meter time of the Olympic Trials thus far (20.17). There will be three heats consisting of seven athletes each.
The top three finishers from each heat — in addition to the next best six based on time — will advance to Sunday’s final, which is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. The fastest American ever in the 200 is Michael Johnson, who recorded a time of 19.32 on August 1, 1996. Jamaican and defending Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt currently holds the world record with a time of 19.19. Friday’s 200-meter semifinals will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Men’s 110-meter hurdles final
The semifinal of the men’s 110-meter hurdles is scheduled for 4:20 p.m. Saturday will consist of 18 athletes who advanced from the preliminaries Friday afternoon. The top eight semifinalists will advance to the final later Saturday, which will take place at 6:40 p.m. Former University of South Carolina star Jason Richardson posted the fastest qualifying time of any of the competitors (13.13) — just .09 seconds off of his PR. The American record for this event was set by David Oliver on July 16, 2011 (12.89) and the world record is held by Dayron Robles of Cuba (12.87), set on June 12, 2008.
Correction: This article originally stated that Griffith-Joyner was in town this week for philanthropic causes. That, of course, is not true; it was Griffith-Joyner’s step-sister Jackie Joyner-Kersee that visited Eugene earlier this week. The Oregon Daily Emerald regrets the error.