GREENVILLE, S.C. (South Carolina Athletics) – With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games fast approaching, Team USA held its track and field trials June 21-30 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Nine former and current Gamecocks competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, with Quincy Hall standing out in the men's 400m. A former NCAA champion in the 400m hurdles (2019), Hall has switched to the 400m and there's no doubt he's the right athlete for Paris. The former Gamecock took first place in all three rounds of the 400m, including winning in a personal best time of 44.17 seconds at the U.S. Trials, and is currently ranked fifth in the world. This will be Hall's Olympic debut, and he is looking to become just the second Gamecock in history to win a medal in the 400m since Otis Harris won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Freshman phenom Jamecia Ford and former standout thrower Josh Awotunde also made the finals in their respective events. Awotunde placed seventh in the men's shot put preliminaries, throwing 20.93m (68-8), to advance to the finals. He then threw 21.77m (71-5.25) in the final to place fifth overall and miss out on a spot on the Olympic team. Ford began her competition in the women's 400m, clocking 51.55 in the first round for 15th place. After reaching the semifinals, the North Carolina native clocked a new personal best of 50.33 in the 400m to place seventh overall and advance to the 400m final. Ford finished in 50.80 seconds in her final 400m sprint to place eighth overall.
Two more Gamecocks advanced to the semifinals in their respective events in the form of Evan Miller (400m) and Jayla Jamison (200m). Miller, a Class of 2023 graduate, ran a season-best 45.70 in the 400m opening meet to place 23rd overall. She then ran 46.95 in the semifinals to settle for 26th at the U.S. qualifiers. Jamison, who finished an All-American outdoor season at Carolina, finished 14th in both the 200m opening meet and semifinals. Jamison, a West Columbia native, ran 22.89 in the opening meet and 22.68 in the semifinals but narrowly missed out on a spot in the finals.
CJ Licata and Dylan Tagart rounded out the current Gamecocks field, with Chris Royster and Malik Paul the final two former Gamecocks. Licata and Tagart competed in the shot put, with Licata narrowly missing out on a spot in the finals with a distance of 19.60m (64-3.75) for 13th place overall; he needed to finish in the top 12 to advance. Tagart threw 19.46m (63-10.25) for 15th place overall. Malik Paul competed in the men's discus, throwing 55.16m (181-0) for 23rd place in the preliminary round, and Royster competed in the men's 100m sprint, clocking 10.31 (-0.1) for 28th place in the opening round.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will begin with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26th and conclude on Sunday, August 11th. Track and field events will begin on Thursday, August 1st. Quincy Hall will run the opening round 400 meters on Sunday, August 4th at 1:05 pm ET.
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