In the days winding down until the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the athletes at Hayward Field were determined to secure their spot in the games.
The ninth day of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials for Track and Field featured eight finals. Several 2024 NCAA Champions clinched their spot on Team USA, while some athletes who were favored to win their events failed to do so.
Men’s 20k Racewalk Final | 7:30 a.m.
Day nine started in Springfield, Oregon with the men’s racewalk. Nick Christie was the first to cross the finish line after 1:24:46 to win the event. Emmanuel Corvera and Jordan Crawford rounded out the top three.
What Christie had to say:
“We’ll have about the same cadence as a 200-meter runner, but then we’ll do that for 20 kilometers. It’s a very unique event that I feel like the viewer may not totally understand when they just see us wiggling our hips and looking funny.”
Women’s 20k Racewalk Final | 7:31 a.m.
Robyn Stevens took first place in the racewalk with a personal best time of 1:37:38. She will be joined on the Olympic team by second and third-place finishers Miranda Melville and Michelle Rohl who finished with times of 1:39:38 and 1:42:27, respectively.
Men’s Discus Throw Final | 4:30 p.m.
Andrew Evans won the event with a best throw of 66.61 meters to lead the three athletes heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. He will be joined by Sam Mattis and Joseph Brown who had best throws of 66.07 and 65.79, respectively.
What Evans had to say:
“The Olympics is the penultimate, it’s what we’re all working towards. I want to stay throwing in this sport until my body gives out. It’s hard financially to keep doing it, but when you do something like [win gold] it gives you a lot of support and I’m just grateful for it to be able to keep on doing it.”
Women’s 100m Hurdles Semifinal | 5:04 p.m.
Alaysha Johnson, Tonea Marshall and Masai Russell all finished just 0.005 seconds apart to lead the group of nine runners to make the finals in the event. Johnson won the event with a time of 12.351 seconds to secure the top spot.
What to watch next:
The finals for the 100-meter hurdles will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Women’s Long Jump Final | 5:20 p.m.
Fan-favorite Tara Davis-Woodhall was in danger of not advancing past her third attempt. She stayed alive with a jump of 6.64 meters following two flags. On her fifth attempt, however, Davis-Woodhall recorded a measurement of 7.00 meters. She celebrated with the 200-meter silver medalist, Brittany Brown, as her fifth jump ended up being the best of the final.
Jasmine Moore came in second place to make Team USA for both the long jump and the triple jump. Quanesha Burks, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, took the third spot on her final attempt, but Monae’ Nichols snatched it right back with an attempt of 6.86 meters to clinch the final spot.
Women’s 200m Final | 5:27 p.m.
Gabby Thomas, who won bronze in the 2020 Olympics, won the event with a time of 21.81 seconds. She will be joined in Paris by Brown, who ran a personal best of 21.90 seconds in the event, and 2024 NCAA Champion from the University of Mississippi, McKenzie Long who ran a 21.91-second race. Sha’Carri Richardson, who took first place in the 100-meter race, finished fourth. Former Oregon runner Jenna Prandini and current Duck Jadyn Mays finished with times of 22.58 and 22.60 seconds, respectively.
What Thomas had to say:
“I do feel like a veteran because there are so many athletes coming into our sport constantly. People are popping up. People are doing amazing things in college and now suddenly I feel I’m the old one because I’ve been on a couple of teams. I definitely feel like a vet at this point, but I also feel like I have not reached my full potential. I feel like I can still peak and that’s what I’m looking to do this year. I feel like this is my year. I made sure I did what I needed today.”
What Brown had to say:
“My coach said that was the most executed race I’ve ran with him so far so I was really happy with that compliment. I think I did well. I think I executed how I wanted to execute and I’m happy with myself.”
What Long had to say:
“I really was just smiling from ear to ear. I wanted to come into this race really confident…Just crossing that line, knowing that I’m an Olympian now is so surreal. I know my mom is smiling from cheek to cheek. I know she is very proud of me…She would probably be like, ‘You’re McKenzie Long. They should be afraid of you.’ And just believe in myself.”
Women’s 400m Hurdles Semifinal | 5:41 p.m.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Dalilah Muhammad, who hold the first and fifth best times ever, respectively, finished as the top two in the first semi final heat. McLaughlin-Levrone recorded a world-leading time of 52.48 seconds — nearly two seconds ahead of Muhammad.
Anna Cockrell and Shamier Little finished behind McLaughlin-Levrone for second and third overall, respectively, across all semi final heats.
What to watch next:
The women’s 400-meter hurdles will conclude the 2024 trials on Sunday. It’s set to begin at 5:29 p.m.
Women’s Shot Put Final | 5:50 p.m.
“Shout” played inside Hayward as the only NCAA Champion from Oregon this season, Jaida Ross, made her first Olympic team. Ross recorded the third-best throw of the final at 19.60 meters on her second attempt. Chase Jackson’s 20.10-meter throw was a season-best and the best overall. Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Raven Saunders had the second-best attempt to round out the shot put team.
What Ross had to say:
“I felt like my series was really good. I felt strong. I really, really, really wanted that 20 line, so that’s what I was going for every throw. Every time I came short, I wanted to come back stronger. The nerves kept building as the rounds kept going up a little bit. I figured it out. I just truly try to be myself out there and do what I do every meet.”
“Coming from a small town —- and what I’d say is a majority White state — I really held my own as a Black woman and used the resources that I could. It takes a village. I have this whole family that’s helped me and so many family friends that have contributed to my journey and given me resources that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I think it really speaks to just how hard I’ve worked and how hard it is to get out of that. I’m proud of my roots and I’m proud of where I’m from. To be able to represent Oregon just means everything to me.”
Women’s 10,000m Final | 6:09 p.m.
The three finalists were already about 50 meters ahead of everyone else with four laps to go. It was closely contested between the top three times, but Weini Kelati clocked in at 31:41.07 to secure first. Another 2024 NCAA Champion, University of Florida’s Parker Valby, came in second with Karissa Schweizer in third. Neither Valby nor Schweizer demonstrated Olympic Standard, so they’ll have to wait and see in the coming weeks if they make the team based on how other athletes perform across the world.
Men’s 200m Final | 6:49 p.m.
Noah Lyles broke a 28-year-old meet record and set the world-leading time by running a 19.53-second race to take first place. Kenny Bednarek, who held the world lead before Lyles took it, set a personal best with a 19.59-second race to finish second. Erriyon Knighton secured the final spot on the Olympic team with a time of 19.77 seconds to finish third in the event.
What Lyles had to say:
“I’m satisfied with the time. It’s right next to what I ran at World Championships last year — 19.5 is pretty much my zip code. It’s where my average is. Anytime I run 19.5 it’s like saying, ‘Okay, you’re in you’re average area.’ As we’re getting closer and closer to the Olympics it’s like, ‘19.5, check.’ I’m planning on going to London, I’m planning on going to Monaco. Hopefully, we’ll see another 19.5 or a 19.4. Check, we’re getting faster each week. We’re getting faster and faster. That’s the momentum I want to see heading into the Olympics.”
What to watch next:
The 2024 trials will conclude on Sunday. All 11 events taking place will be finals, determining 33 spots on Team USA. The men’s hammer throw final will begin the day at 2:50 p.m.
Continue following The Daily Emerald’s coverage of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field on X, @lilycrane23 and @JoeMoore_21.
