Talking Trials: A World Record, a dead heat and Lolo time

The brotherhood that is the decathlon was on full display
as Curtis Beach lets Ashton Eaton win the 1500 meters
(photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

This is the fourth installment of "Talking Trials." There will be more to come every day during the 2012 USA Olympic Track and Field Trials from Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, OR.Full results for the trials are here.

On Saturday, the weather started out rough once again, but ended beautifully. The Women's 100 meter hurdles were delayed 30 minutes because of hard rain, but that would be the smallest of the problems at Hayward Field on this day, as an Olympic spot would remain in limbo after a three hour deliberation of who finished third in the Women's 100 meter final. The official statement was that the race's third and final Olympic spot would end in a tie.

The stars would be on display as Lolo Jones would reach the 100 meter hurdle final and then would run just fast enough to finish inside the top three in the final; taking the third spot on the podium and booking her trip to London. After finishing and realizing she made the team, she did a version of "the worm" on the track. To say she was excited to be an understatement

The story of the day would be Ashton Eaton and his pursuit of the World Record in the decathlon. Needing to run 4:16.37 for 1500 meters to set the mark, Eaton would run an inspired 62 second last lap and finish in 4:14.48 to break Roman Sebrle’s 11 year old record by 13 points, scoring 9039. Joining him on the London team would be 2009 and 2011 World Champion, Trey Hardee. Beijing Gold Medalist, Bryan Clay, would fail to qualify after a disqualification in the 110 meter hurdles ended his quest. 1976 Olympic Gold medalist Bruce Jenner was in attendance to watch the athletes compete in the event that made him famous. I was able to sit behind he and his sons as they watched the decathlon and it was very surreal to watch him go down memory lane, while being inspired by what he was witnessing.

Allyson Felix on the phone during the review
process. 

And while Eaton's performance was the most exciting, it wasn't the only one people were talking about when they left Hayward Saturday. Carmelita Jeter would take the 100 meter title, with Tianna Madison finishing right on her heels. The true battle to make the team would be in third. Jeneba Tarmoh was initally declared the victor over Allyson Felix for the last spot on the team, but then the photo finish was reviewed to the 1/1000th of a second, showing a dead heat. As of the release of this post, there was still no resolution to who would go to London. I'm hoping for a run-off.

The after party facet of the event was once again an exciting one. The fans were out in droves and there was quite the who's who of past stars at the Wild Duck Cafe. If you want to see some runners, throwers and jumpers, this is the place. You'll have to trust me on this one!

More instagram photos from Day Two at Hayward:

Nike had a lot of cool signage

Ashton Eaton, World Record Holder

Lolo and the hurdle team

The Women's 100 was a great example of this!

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Daily Daegu: Bolt false starts, Eaton finishes fast

Channeling teammate Andrew Wheating
(TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Day 2 at Daegu had many highlights, but one lowlight; Usain Bolt false starting in the 100. What a letdown! Something tells me he'll be sitting in the blocks in the 200 until the field is 5 meters up. Ashton Eaton's 60 second final 400 in the 1500 of the Decathlon was impressive. He wanted Silver and he got it. His strong 4:18.94 was enough to jump Cuba's Leonel Suárez on the medal stand to get one step closer to repeat Gold Medalist, Trey Hardee. Walter Dix was also second best in the 100, behind Jamaica's Yohan Blake.

On the distance front, an Ethiopian man won the 10,000, but not the one you'd think. Ibrahim Jeilan came out of nowhere and kicked down Mo Farah in the last 40 meters to take the gold. It was pretty gut-wrenching to watch Farah get passed at the end, but he'll be in contention for the win in the 5000 in a few days. Kenenisa Bekele stepped off the track with 10 laps to go, citing lack of fitness, but happy he gave it a shot. Galen Rupp hung in there until about two laps to go and proceeded to take seventh overall. A nice showing, but not what he was hoping for. He lapped Matt Tegenkamp and Scott Bauhs in the process, which tells you all you need to know about how their day went.

In the prelims, all three American Women advanced in the 1500, with Morgan Uceny, Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson all getting automatic qualifies to the semis. Nick Symmonds looked great in the 800 and will be the only American in the final as Khadevis Robinson failed to advance.

Day 3 kicks off this evening with the Men's Steeplechase prelims. Dan Huling, Billy Nelson and Ben Bruce will have their hands full, but hopefully can find their way into Thursday's final. That's the only distance race of the day, but there will be finals in the Women's 400, Men's 110 Hurdles and Women's 100 to close the day.

You can watch on television and online via Universal Sports. Results are on the IAAF's Daegu site.

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