At the 2012 Olympic Trials, the women’s 100 meter dash proved to be the most exciting race of the week, and certainly the most controversial. Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh tied for third with a time of 11.07 seconds. The result captured the nation’s intrigue, and a race-off or a coin flip were the two options presented to see who would make the 5,000 mile trip to London, England.
Eventually, Tarmoh dropped out, and Felix advanced.
This year, the 100 meter dash may not match the nearly impossible spectacle of four years ago, but the story lines remain captivating and it will develop into an interesting race. The final takes place on July, 3 at 5:44 p.m.
Star power is what drives this race. Carmelita Jeter, Tianna Bartoletta and Felix are the defending top three from 2012. Jeter took home silver at the Olympics, with Bartoletta finishing fourth.
However, none of those women have times in the top three entering 2016’s trials. Instead, former Oregon Duck English Gardner holds the top time with 10.79 seconds that she ran on June, 26 of last year. Tori Bowie ran the fastest time of 2016 on May, 5 with a time only 0.01 seconds slower than English.
Gardner and Bowie have separated themselves as the top two contenders coming into the trials, but like four years ago, the third place spot will be highly contested. Barbara Pierre and former Oregon runner Jasmine Todd enter with a time of 10.92 for the third spot, while three other runners are within 0.03 seconds of that mark. Tarmoh, Bartoletta and former Oregon runner Jenna Prandini all enter with times of 10.93, 10.94 and 10.95, respectively.
A dark horse in the race could be Oregon redshirt freshman Ariana Washington. After steadily building momentum throughout the spring, Washington shocked the nation by winning NCAA titles in the 100 and 200 meter events and anchoring Oregon’s third place effort in the 4×100 meter relay. While her season-best of 11.18 seconds leaves her ranked 19th on the entry list, Washington’s performance at the NCAA Outdoor championships proved that she is more than capable of exceeding expectations at the national stage.
“I used to get really nervous and overthink everything,” Washington said following the outdoor championships. “But today it was kind of just, you believe it, you see it and you let it go and things just work out the way they do.”
An extremely competitive race full of big names in the track and field community is the perfect storm for the already thrilling 100 meter dash. Take it all in.
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @Butler917. For more 2016 Olympic Trials coverage, follow @ODEsports on Twitter.