Eugene resident and former USC standout Jesse Williams outjumped the competition in the men’s high jump final Saturday afternoon to take the title and a ticket to the Olympics. Williams’ jump of 7 feet, 6.5 inches bettered 2004 Trials champion Jamie Nieto’s 7-5.25 jump.
Williams was beside himself after taking the championship, saying he’s looking forward to the chance to compete in China.
“Today couldn’t have gone any better. I’m just thanking God every second right now that I’m here and going to Beijing,” he said.
Nieto, who placed fourth in the Olympics in 2004, tied with Andra Manson, Cedric Norman, and Keith Moffatt for second place at this year’s Trials. But because of the tie, Nieto was excluded from making his second Olympic team after he failed to win a jump-off. Instead, the two remaining spots on the team went to Dusty Jonas, who tied for sixth, and Manson because they won the jump-off and had previously achieved the Olympic ‘A’ standard.
Being out of the competition and then finding out he was still able to jump was tough on Jonas. On thinking he was out of the competition, he said that he didn’t know what to do.
“I was pretty disappointed. That would have been my lowest jump all year for me. I was glad for that second chance. God had something to say today, I think. He gave me a second chance and I took advantage of it,” Jonas said.
Earlier in the day, in the finals of the men’s 20 kilometer race walk, Kevin Eastler of the U.S. Air Force raced his way to a one-minute victory over Matthew Boyles. Eastler, a captain in the Air Force, is a three-time U.S. champion in the event, and his time of 1:27:07.1 helped earn him a trip to Beijing in August.
Eastler was the only one to qualify, however, because Boyles and third-place finisher Patrick Stroupe didn’t complete the Olympic ‘A’ standard. Both men were upbeat after the race, though, saying they were happy with their times.
Boyles said that he’d been racing for seven years and to place at the Trials is something he’ll never forget.
“I don’t have the standard, so this is the end for me. But how can you not be happy with second place and a personal record in the Olympic Trials? I have been race walking for seven years and I’ve been very blessed. I’m very thankful,” he said.
The finals in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase also took place on Saturday, and the top three runners were separated by 1.5 seconds. Anthony Famiglietti clocked in first with a time of 8:20.24, closely followed by William Nelson at 8:21.47, and Joshua McAdams at 8:21.99.
Famiglietti, who was the 2002 U.S. steeplechase gold medalist and a three-time U.S. runner-up in the 3,000 meter race, said he was happy to represent the United States. After the race, he said that his plan was to go out as aggressively as he could.
“I got out and ran aggressively like I always do,” Famiglietti said. “Whether that meant finishing dead last with dead legs or finishing first with dead legs. Luckily, it was first. You have to forget if you’re going to die.”