From the triumphs of Cole Hocker, Nia Akins and Anna Hall, to the disappointment of Athing Mu, the fourth day of the U.S. Olympic trials for track and field provided some extreme highs and devastating lows.
Yared Nuguse took the early lead, but Hocker moved to the front on the final lap and would not be denied as the former Oregon Ducks star held off Nuguse down the stretch to win the men’s 1,500-meter final on Monday evening at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Hocker set a meet record and a personal best, finishing in 3 minutes, 30.59 seconds. Nuguse was just behind at 3:30.86, and Hobbs Kessler grabbed the final spot for Team USA at the Paris Olympics in the event with a time of 3:31.53. Eight of the 12 runners in the race set personal bests as Nuguse and then Hocker pulled them toward the finish line.
It was quite a different story in the other big middle distance race of the night, the women’s 800 meters, as Mu, the reigning Olympic champion, fell to the track on the back stretch of the first lap and could not recover. Mu was in tears after jogging across the finish line in last place.
Akins surged to the front on the final lap and rolled to victory in 1:57.36, a personal best. Allie Wilson took second and Juliette Whittaker placed third to round out the U.S. Olympic team in the event. Former Ducks star Raevyn Rogers finished seventh.
Hall was overcome with excitement and disbelief after winning the heptathlon. Her victory came just six months after knee surgery, and three years after a fall in the hurdles of the heptathlon spoiled her hopes of making the Tokyo Olympics.
Also Monday night, Elle St. Pierre held off Elise Cranny in an incredibly close finish in the women’s 5,000 final, while Quincy Hall took down Michael Norman in the men’s 400 final.
The track and field trials will now take a two-day hiatus before returning for more action Thursday.
Olympic track and field trials
Here’s a recap of how Day 4 of the trials unfolded in Eugene on Monday.
Live updates recap, results
(Latest updates on top)
Women’s 800 meters final: Disaster strikes for Athing Mu in the middle of the first lap. Mu gets tripped up and takes a fall. As Mu tries in vain to reel in the rest of the field, Nia Akins pulls away down the stretch and wins the race in 1 minute, 57.36 seconds. That’s a personal-best for Akins. Allie Wilson places second in 1:58.32, and Juliette Whittaker takes third in 1:58.45. Mu is in tears after she jogs to the finish line in last place. Sheer devastation for Mu. Former Oregon Ducks star Raevyn Rogers is seventh in 2:01.12. Kate Grace crosses eighth in 2:02.37. And Mu finishes in 2:19.69.
- WATCH: The best way to see every event of the USA Olympic trials for under $6 is by signing up for Peacock Premium ($5.99/month), NBC’s low-cost streaming service. Top events will also be broadcast live on NBC and USA Network. If you don’t already have cable, you can still watch some of those events live for free with Fubo (free trial) or with DirecTV Stream (free trial).
Women’s 5,000 meters final: Parker Valby leads at the 10-minute mark of the race and has been at the front nearly the entire way. Elise Cranny, Elle St. Pierre and the Bowerman Track Club’s Karissa Schweizer are right there with her, though. Now those three all pass Valby, with about 800 meters to go. St. Pierre to the front, followed by Cranny and Schweizer. They stay right in that position for the remainder of the race. St. Pierre wins it in a meet-record 14:40.34, followed by Cranny, who is just two-hundredths of a second behind. Schweizer holds on to finish third at 14:45.12, followed by Valby in fourth place at 14:51.44, which is a personal best. So the women’s 5,000 team for Paris will be St. Pierre, Cranny and Schweizer.
Men’s 400-meter final: Quincy Hall hits the line first to win the men’s 400 meters in a personal-best 44.17 seconds. Michael Norman takes second, finishing in 44.41. Chris Bailey crosses third in 44.42. Those three will represent Team USA in the 400 at the Olympics. High school phenom Quincy Wilson places sixth with a time of 44.94. That’s not quite as fast as the U18 records he set Friday and Sunday (44.66, 44.59), but it’s still a fast time. Vernon Norwood places fourth in 44.47.
Heptathlon 800 meters: Anna Hall wins her heat of the heptathlon 800 meters, and that’s enough for Hall to win the overall heptathlon competition. Hall crosses in 2 minutes, 4.39 seconds, which easily is the fastest 800 among the competitors. Michelle Atherley’s time is 2:06.68, followed by Allie Jones at 2:11.03. In the overall heptathlon, Hall wins with 6,614 points. Chari Hawkins places second at 6,456 and Taliyah Brooks finishes third at 6,408. Atherley places fourth with 6,391.
Women’s 3,000 steeplechase, round 1: Former Oregon State star Kaylee Mitchell wins her heat of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Mitchell crosses the finish line in 9 minutes, 29.54 seconds. Valerie Constien is a close second in 9:29.61 and Courtney Wayment is just behind her in 9:29.66. Madie Boreman places fourth in 9:30.26. Angelina Ellis finishes fifth and qualifies for the final despite taking a spill while going over one of the barriers midway through the race. Ellis (9:33.11) just beats Annie Rodenfels (9:33.12) at the line to grab that last automatic qualifying spot. Rodenfels will have to hope to make the final as a time qualifier. … In the second heat, it’s Gabbi Jennings winning in 9:23.88. Marisa Howard is second in 9:26.38 and Olivia Markezich third in 9:26.67. The rest of the auto qualifiers are Lexy Halladay and Allie Ostrander. The time qualifiers are Rodenfels, Logan Jolly, Krissy Gear and Kayley DeLay.
Men’s 1,500 meters final: One of the most anticipated events of the night is about to begin, the men’s 1,500 final. Yared Nuguse moves to the front in the early going of the race. Hobbs Kessler is close behind, and so is former Oregon Ducks star Cole Hocker. Hocker moves to the front at the 3-minute mark on the backstretch. He shows off his speed as they turn for home. Nuguse tries to challenge, but Hocker holds him off to win the race. So it’s Hocker in a meet record time of 3 minutes, 30.59 seconds, followed by Nuguse and then Kessler. That’s the U.S. team for Paris in the men’s 1,500. Eight of the 12 runners in the race set personal bests, including Hocker and Kessler. Oregon Ducks runner Elliott Cook finishes eighth in 3:33.84, with ex-UO star Cooper Teare 10th in 3:35.17.
Men’s long jump final: Through two attempts in the men’s long jump, Jeremiah Davis leads with a jump of 26 feet, 10 inches. Johnny Brackins (26-9), Cameron Crump (26-6¼), Jarrion Lawson and Isaac Grimes round out the top five. Former Oregon Ducks long jumper Damarcus Simpson fouls on two of his three attempts and on the third musters just 24-0¾. So Simpson is eliminated after three attempts. … The competition is down to the final round of jumps now. Davis leads at 26-11. Malcolm Clemons leaps 26-10 on his final attempt to move up to second. Jarrion Lawson matches that effort — 26-10 — and is in third place. … Davis wins the long jump with his 26-11, followed by Clemons (26-10), Jarrion Lawson (26-10) and Johnny Brackins (26-9¾). None of the four have met the Olympic standard of 27-1¾ . So it might come down to world rankings to determine who will go to Paris with Team USA. The full team will be announced July 7.
Women’s high jump final: The opening height was 5 feet, 8 inches, and now the bar has moved up to 6-0. Five women have cleared 6-0 without a miss: Sanaa Barnes, Vashti Cunningham, Jamari Drake, Rachel Glenn and Charity Hufnagel. Six of the high jumpers have cleared 6-2. They are Hufnagel, Jenna Rogers, Barnes, Cunningham, Glenn and JaiCieonna Gero-Holt. The bar now is at 6-3¼. … Hufnagel leads the women’s high jump, clearing a personal-best 6-4¼ without a miss. Cunningham and Rogers are second with jumps of 6-3¼. Glenn also has cleared that height and is in fourth place. Cunningham and Glenn are the only two in the competition who have achieved the Olympic standard of 6-5½. Now Glenn clears 6-4¼ to move up to second place. Hufnagel first, Glenn second, and Cunningham and Rogers tied for third. Hufnagel and Glenn are the only two left in the competition now. … Hufnagel wins the high jump, with Glenn second and Cunningham third. Glenn and Cunningham hold the Olympic standard.
Women’s discus qualifying: There are two flights of 12 in the women’s discus. The first flight is now complete. Veronica Fraley leads at 206 feet, 2 inches, with Erika Beistle second at 202-4. Elena Bruckner (201-3) sits third, Micaela Hazlewood (195-0) fourth and Cierra Jackson (189-4) fifth. … U.S. discus star Valarie Allman needed just one attempt to ensure she would advance to the discus final. Allman set a meet record of 232-7 on her first throw and then passed on her second and third attempts. Allman was the top qualifier, followed by Jayden Ulrich (208-8), Veronica Fraley (206-2), Erika Beistle (202-4), Elena Bruckner (201-3) and Micaela Hazlewood (195-0). Also advancing to the final are Shelby Frank, Kat Moody, Cierra Jackson, Kaia Harris, Alexandra Freeman and Jordyn Bryant.
Men’s 110 hurdles, round 1: Grant Holloway is in the first heat of the men’s 110 hurdles, and he gets a great start and blows away the field. He hits the line in 12.92 seconds, and that’s the fastest time in the world this year. Holloway got a great start and just kept getting more and more separation as the race went on. The top six in each of the four heats will advance to the semifinals, along with the next three fastest. The other qualifiers from the first heat are Myles Hunter (personal-best 13.33), Darius Luff (13.33), Ja’kobe Tharp (13.37), Connor Schulman (13.38) and Darius Brown (13.56). … In the second heat, Freddie Crittenden wins it in 13.16, followed by Cordell Tinch (13.33) and Jayden Smith (13.37). The final auto qualifiers in that heat are Eric Edwards (13.37), Robert Dunning (13.44) and Paris Williams (13.60). … Trey Cunningham takes the third heat in a time of 13.12. He’s followed by Dylan Beard (13.19), Devion Wilson (13.34), Michael Dickson (13.36), Daniel Harrold (13.41) and Ahmad Young (13.46). … In the final heat of the day, Jamal Britt hits the line first, crossing in 13.07. Daniel Roberts is just behind at 13.14, edging Ja’Qualon Scott (13.15). The other auto qualifiers are Cameron Murray (13.23), Louis Rollins (13.38) and Di’Niko Bates (13.56). … The three time qualifiers into the semifinals are Brahmir Vick (13.54) from heat 3, Eli Morris (13.57) from heat 4 and Tyson Williams (13.58) from heat 1.
Evening session begins: The evening session has begun. It starts with women’s discus qualifying in the field. And on the track, it’s round 1 of the men’s 110-meter hurdles.
Morning session complete: The morning session is now over, after the completion of the two heptathlon events. Check back for more live updates later today. The evening session is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. with qualifying the women’s discus.
Heptathlon standings: The heptathlon is now through six events, and Anna Hall regains the lead with 5,566 points. Chari Hawkins is just six points behind, though, at 5,560. Taliyah Brooks is third at 5,492 points. It will all come down to the final event, the heptathlon 800 meters, with the first of those two heats scheduled for 6:37 tonight.
Heptathlon javelin: Ashtin Zamzow-Mahler has the best throw of the day in the heptathlon javelin, with a toss of 161 feet, 9 inches on her first attempt. Chari Hawkins is just behind, with a personal-best 161-8, followed by Anna Hall (season-best 149-6), Michelle Atherley (personal-best 142-6) and Erica Bougard (season-best 140-2).
Heptathlon long jump: The top five in the heptathlon long jump are Timara Chapman, with a personal-best leap of 20 feet, 9¾ inches, Taliyah Brooks (20-7¾), Allie Jones (20-4½), Michelle Atherley (20-3¾) and Anna Hall (20-3¾). Chapman, Brooks and Jones each had their best jump on their third and final attempt. The best effort for Atherley and Hall came on their first jump. After five events, Brooks has taken the overall heptathlon lead with 4,801 points. Hall is just behind, at 4,792, followed by Chari Hawkins at 4,714. Hawkins’ best in the long jump was 19-7. The heptathlon javelin is up next, starting at 11:10 a.m.
Day 4 | Monday, June 24
TV and live stream schedule
All times Pacific
NBC: 5-8 p.m.
Peacock: 10 a.m.-noon; 5-8 p.m.
Event schedule
Event finals in bold
All times Pacific
Morning session
10 a.m.: Heptathlon long jump
11:10 a.m.: Heptathlon javelin
Evening session
5 p.m.: Women’s discus qualifying
5:05 p.m.: Men’s 110 hurdles, round 1
5:15 p.m.: Women’s high jump final
5:25 p.m.: Men’s long jump final
5:47 p.m.: Men’s 1,500 meters final
5:59 p.m.: Women’s 3,000 steeplechase, round 1
6:37 p.m.: Heptathlon 800 meters
6:59 p.m.: Men’s 400 meters final
7:09 p.m.: Women’s 5,000 meters final
7:32 p.m.: Women’s 800 meters final
