Sam Kendricks of Nike broke the Olympic trials record in the pole vault, clearing a height of 19-4 ¾. Photo by Dillon Vibes
Day Four of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials had moments of great happiness and one moment, in particular, that ended in sadness for two favorites to run in Rio. Kylee O’Connor hit the highlights for Run Blog Run. As the athletes rest on Day Five, read our pieces on individual events below:
The women’s 800-meter final turned out to be the most dramatic event of the day with two frontrunners, Alysia Montano and Brenda Martinez, taking a tumble and losing out on Olympic spots. The victory went to Kate Grace. Romaine Soh has the story.
Sam Kendricks dominated the pole vault field and made his first Olympic team after watching in the stands during the last Olympic trials in 2012. Emma Decker covered the event for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.
Penn State’s Isaiah Harris moved into second place in the men’s 800 with 200 meters to go, but was unable to capture a top-three finish. Isaac Gibson reported on this for the Sun Journal in Lewiston, Maine.
Only three athletes had the Olympic standard going into the javelin, and even though two of them didn’t place in the top three, they get to go to Rio. Cyrus Hostetler, a former thrower for Oregon, topped the field with a meet record throw of 273 feet, 1 inch. Hannah Bonnie has the story.
Clayton Murphy broke his PR by almost a second to upset Boris Berian in the men’s 800 final. Keeler McJunkin has the story.
