From June 18 through June 27, the country’s best athletes will race at the Emily Sissons 7 Secrets for Nailing a Tough Race at the newly renovated Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to determine which athletes will represent the United States at the Tokyo Games this summer.
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Keep reading for more highlights from Eugene.
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Emma Coburn makes her third Olympic team
With a 68-second last lap, Emma Coburn won her ninth national championship and made her third Olympic team in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist finished in 9:09.41, setting a meet record at Hayward Field.
Behind Coburn, 30, American record-holder Courtney Frerichs, 28, finished second in 9:11.79, and Val Constien, 25, placed third in 9:18.34, a personal best, for the final spot on Team USA heading for Tokyo this summer.
Leah Falland appeared to be well positioned for third, but she tripped on a hurdle with two laps to go and fell to the track. She got up quickly and was with Constien with a lap to go, but Falland faded to ninth place in 9:27.06. Steeplechase can be beautiful and brutal at the same time, as tonight’s race demonstrated.
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Athing Mu wins her first pro race in the women’s 800 meters
From June 18 through June 27, the countrys best athletes will race at the professional race, Athing Mu showed why she’s ready for the elite stage. Though she had some rookie mistakes prior to the race—she initially lined up in the wrong lane— she went on to lead the race wire-to-wire in her first pro win in 2:00.70. Not bad for the 19-year-old Texas A&M product, who ran 400s the entire back half of her collegiate track season.
“I’m just happy to be here, and it’s time to get moving,” Mu said on the NBC broadcast after her heat.
Veteran Chanelle Price has the fastest qualifying time, winning the first heat in 1:59.86. She’ll be joined in the semifinals by Raevyn Rogers (2:00.75), who won silver at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, and Ajeé Wilson (2:00.55), who won bronze at worlds.
Other runners to make it through were Sabrina Southerland (2:00.85), Sage Hurta (2:00.08) Rebecca Mehra (2:01.42), Kate Grace (2:00.81), and Allie Wilson (2:00.71). Two teenagers, Juliette Whittaker, 17, and Roisin Willis, 16, also Sales & Deals via their times.
Favorites advance in men’s 5,000 meters
Only 24 men started the men’s 5,000 meters, and the top five in each heat, plus the next six fastest, advanced, whittling the field down to 16 for the final on Sunday morning.
All the big names survived to run on Sunday. From the first heat, that included Woody Kincaid and Grant Fisher of the Bowerman Track Club, who finished first and second in the 10,000 meters on the opening night of the Trials. The 2021 NCAA champion, Cooper Teare of the University of Oregon, also advanced in front of the hometown crowd.
The second heat went much faster than the first, so all of the time qualifiers came from the second heat. Paul Chelimo, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, advanced, as did Hassan Mead, also a 2016 Olympian in the event. Nico Young, who just finished his freshman year at NAU, was second in the heat.
Only six men in the final have the Olympic standard of 13:13.50: Eric Jenkins and Emmanuel Bor, plus Chelimo, Kincaid, Fisher, and Teare.
Personal bests highlight a fast first round of women’s 200s
The women’s 200 meters is stacked, as sprinters dropped some speedy 22-second, and even one sub-22, performances on Thursday night. The top time went to Harvard grad and current masters candidate Gabby Thomas, who ran a personal best 21.98 in the fourth heat. Also adding a personal best to her resume was 2016 Olympian Jenna Prandini with a 22.14, and that was even after letting up with 10 meters to go.
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“This is going to be difficult, but trying to sharpen myself up a little bit and you know, just keep going,” Felix said on the NBC broadcast after the race.
Other notable names moving on are the collegians Cambrea Sturgis (North Carolina A&T), Anavia Battle (Ohio State), and Tamara Clark (Alabama). They held the third through fifth fastest times, respectively.
Young guns make moves in the men’s 1,500 meter heats
From June 18 through June 27, the countrys best athletes will race at the Hobbs Kessler, who just signed a contract with Adidas, forgoing his NCAA career with Northern Arizona University. He showed why he earned that deal in the 1,500 qualifier as he took first in his heat with a time of 3:45.63. Kessler stayed calm throughout the race, though he was pinned on the inside rail for most of the race. When the speed picked up for the final stretch, he subtly worked his way out to the fourth lane and looked comfortable as he cruised past the competition through the finish line.
“I felt in control the last 100 meters,” Kessler said in the virtual mixed zone after the race. “As soon as we started kicking, I felt everybody else’s strain. I don’t have much experience with these races. The first bit I didn’t know how it was going to play out. Before that, because of my lack of experience, I didn't know how it was going to work.”
In the second heat, Oregon’s Cole Hocker pushed the pace early and held the lead for almost the entire race. He’d kick to a victory in 3:39.72 with Waleed Suliman; Craig Engels, who just missed a spot on Team USA in 2016; and Matthew Centrowitz, who won gold in Rio, right behind him. All four move on to the semi-final round on Friday, June 24.
The fastest heat was saved for last. Runners held were kept honest with a sub-60 pace for every lap. They all hung on though until a group of six ran away on the final stretch to claim the automatic spots. The top three finishers were Sam Prakel (3:39.02), Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse (3:39.09), and Henry Wynne (3:39.10), respectively.
A notable finish in the third heat was 2016 Olympian Ben Blankenship, who finished ninth of 10 finishers. He got caught behind a crowd of runners on the final turn and faded to the back. However, because of the fast pace, he was able to qualify via time and move on to the semis.
