U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Day 7
In finals competition Saturday, 2004 World Junior champion Michelle Carter earned her first Olympic berth by winning the shot put decisively. Her winning throw was 18.85 meters (61 feet, 10.25 inches), but any of her top three attempts would’ve beaten the field. Kristin Heaton, who sat in seventh place after three rounds, rallied to take second (18.34) while Jillian Camarena placed third (18.12).
Jessica Cosby, the 2006 U.S. outdoor hammer throw champion, won her second American title and set an Olympic Trials record with a throw measuring 70.72 meters (232 feet). The winning toss came on her first attempt. Amber Campbell was second (69.24) and Sarah Veress third (68.60), but fourth-place finisher Loree Smith (67.11) will take the third spot on the U.S. Olympic team because Veress hasn’t met the Olympic “A” qualifying standard of 69.5 meters.
Dusty Jonas entered the Trials with a 2008 world-best high jump of 2.36 meters, but was barely able to grab the final slot on the U.S. Olympic team after winning a jump-off for sixth place. Jesse Williams reached 2.30 without a miss to win the event (he missed three times at 2.36). Andra Manson and Jamie Nieto tied for second, clearing 2.27, but Nieto lacks the Olympic “A” standard of 2.30, as do the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. Jonas then defeated Scott Sellers in the jump-off to claim his spot on the team.
Anthony Famiglietti went wire-to-wire to win his first U.S. steeplechase title since 2002, in a time of 8:20.24. William Nelson was second (8:21.47) and Josh McAdams third (8:21.99).
Kevin Eastler won his fourth U.S. 20-kilometer race walk title with a time of 1:27:07 and will be the lone American representative in Beijing. Matthew Boyles was second (1:28:19) and Patrick Stroupe third (1:29:17), but Eastler was the only competitor who’s met the Olympic "A" standard.
Comments
It’s hard to understand why the USATF chooses to allow recently-naturalized distance runners to compete as Americans in the Olympic trials…Can most Americans rally to support the three finalists for the men’s 1500m run in the 2008 Olympics? Lagat ran for Kenya, Lomong is an unfortunate refugee from war-torn Sudan and made a citizen last year, and Manzano recently transferred his citizenship status from Mexico. Although Webb has the American record set last year, he failed to beat these guys down the stretch in today’s final. Shearer, Webb, and other American-born runners can only scratch their heads…Why spend a lifetime running at the high school, college, and supra-national level in hopes of making the big event when the national federation simply qualifies the best runners from abroad before the trials?
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