Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles Steal Show Over First Half Of U.S. Trials
Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles are two of the stars who stole the spotlight on the beginning of 2024’s US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR.
By Maxx Bradley
Jun 27, 2024 10:12 PM
The first phase of competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials, that saw major incredible breakthroughs, upsets and historic performances, is now over.
Learn everything you need to know regarding this Olympic Trials here.
Make sure you keep the track on FloTrack as well as on every one of our social media channels to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Women’s 100m
The 100m race was a success. Sha’Carri Richardson received her second consecutive national title and was officially certified to compete in her first Olympic Games.
The trio was then joined by Star Athletics teammates Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry Twanisha Terry, The trio scored 10.71, 10.80 and 10.89 each. The three-time world champions ranked the No. 1 and No. 4, and No. seven times across the globe in this year’s season.
Women’s Distance
A single word can be the most accurate definition of the females’ final”chaotic..
American record holder and present Olympic champion Athing Mu was thrown into a serious tumble about 200m into the race and was unable to keep the Olympic hopes alive.
Nia Akins who was the U.s. champions in last year’s championship, took home her second consecutive title in 1:57.36 and established a new personal record. Allie Wilson and NCAA champion Juliette Whittaker finished second and third, respectively, with 1:58.32 and 1:58.45.
The dust was cleared after the final of women’s 5,000m race was completed.
Three women who had most speed in their field took three of the spots that qualified in Paris.
In a battle that went on to the final minute, it was Elle Purrier St. Pierre beating Elise Cranny in 14:40.34 and the former trainer of Cranny — and close friends Karissa Swiss was third in 14:45.12.
After being the leader for the majority of the race, Florida superstar Parker Valby placed fourth and achieving an Olympic time in 14:51.44.
Women’s Jumps
With two of the three jumps completed during the U.S. Trials Teams in their theories were in place.
Vashti Cunningham who won 13 of the 13 previous national outdoor and indoor titles but was beaten by Kentucky Wildcat Charity Hufnagel who came out on top 6-4.25 to win.
Arkansas’ Rachel Glenn and Cunningham were placed second and third.
Both Cunningham and Glenn will likely to to compete at the Olympics through global rankings. Hufnagel is still trying to achieve an Olympic standard of 1.98m before Sunday.
Women’s Throws
The second shocking incident that took place of the U.S. Olympic Trials, Brooke Anderson, the third-best thrower in the world’s history, did not get to the final because she fell foul of the three attempts she made.
Also, Janee Kassanavoid who was a twice gold medalist, as well as the seventh-best thrower in history was ranked as the sixth most effective thrower of all time.
This is correct The number currently being used has been changed to the number No. 1 and No. 4 athletes from the hammer won’t be attending Paris.
The good news is that there is a good chance that U.S. hammer team is well controlled and American record-holder Deanna Price came in second place with a throw 244-6. The first-ever Olympic Trials qualifier Annette Echikunwoke was the winner of her first championship at the national level.
Erin Reese finished third, throwing the 233-7. She’ll be on the rankings of world champions.
Heptathlon
for the second time in consecutive years, Anna Hall was the winner of the title national in the heptathlon in Hayward Field, this time taking the title after an operation on her knee in the month of January.
Hall was the first to lead and set the score at 6,614 and is among the top two positions at every single competition. Hall is the first time that he’s an athlete for the Olympics as an Olympic medalist and is fourth overall globally in the year.
Chari Hawkins, and Taliyah Brooks finished in the third and second spots respectively. Both will be going to Paris in the same manner by way of World Rankings.
Men’s Sprints
The most thrilling 100m events Hayward Field has seen in recent years, Noah Lyles proved his point winning his third U.s. race in 100m and setting an all-time record for the world record time of 9.83 and his personal record for 9.83.
Kenny Bednarek came in second place with 9.87 beat the record-setting record.
The two Of Lyles as well as Bednarek each were Olympic gold medalists in the 200m race. However, they both qualify as first-timer for the 100m race.
Fred Kerley, the world champion, who is currently not sponsored, as well as was the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist in 2020, finished 3rd in 9.88 and was able to surpass his best year from the previous year.
Men’s Distance
When the men’s 10,000m event began, there were three runners who had met those who met the Olympic standard. Three of them will compete in August.
This race was led by a variety of participants at the front, which include Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid and Nico Young, who switched to professional sports with the agreement with adidas.
At 2,000m, the nine-man team separated from the rest of the field. Just 1,000m in the race, Fisher made a move to increase his lead. He afterward, he sped away from other field after having completed the two laps in 1:58.61.
Fisher was capable of stopping his clock in 27:49.47 Kincaid’s famous shot (55.72) wasn’t enough since Kincaid reached his goal at 27:50.74.
Young was able to take on an extremely fast Drew Hunter at the last moment, and won his final Olympic spot at 27:52.4 in comparison to Hunter’s 27:53.35.
Men’s Hurdles
In the 3000m men’s Steeplechase, Kenneth Rooks returned to the track and was awarded the second time in a row his national championship, as and also became the very first Olympian.
Rooks took an unintentional step back from the track to win victory with 8:21.92 and ex- Division III national champion Matthew Wilkinson and Brigham Young’s James Corrigan were second and third.
With only a few days left before the deadline for qualifying, Corrigan is the only one of the three at the moment in the positions for qualifying, however Corrigan is determined to meet the standard and raise his position on the planet this weekend at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
Men’s Jumps
In the men’s pole vault, American world record holder KC Lightfoot finished 16th in the first round, but he unexpectedly was thrown out of the position.
However, each of Chris Nilsen and Sam Kendricks and Chris Nilsen made the cut, and then followed by first and second place finishing with clearances of 19-5 and 19-3.
Jacob Wooten who was an ex-Texas A&M Aggie was 3rd in the conference, with an all-time high of 19-3.
Men’s Throws
If anyone doubted the ability in Ryan Crouser his talents was shaken. He took the national title in another way by throwing from a distance in the range of 74-11.25.
Joe Kovacs who has been Crouser’s most formidable hurdle over the years was third with a throw at 73-7.25. Payton Otterdahl, who was an ex- North Dakota State star, was successful in throwing 73-0.5 in his last throw.
Decathlon
In the biggest performance of his career, Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin took on veterans over 10 matches, defeating Zach Ziemek and Harrison Williams by more than 100 points.
Baldwin earned 8,625 marks in five events. He also won the event and placing second in another team. Ziemek and Williams have a combined score of 8 516 points and 838.
A No. seventh decathlete according to American record books, Kyle Garland was forced to quit after seven events because of injuries.