U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field starts Today
Posted Friday, 22 June, 2012
Eugene, Ore. – More than 100 athletes will be selected to represent the U.S. at the London Olympic Games as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field begin today and run through July 1. Action starts first with the hammer throw in Beaverton, Oregon and continues with eight days of action over the next ten days.
The hammer throw will be highlighted in a unique day of competition that takes place at the Nike Worldwide Headquarters on the Ronaldo Field where a spectator-friendly venue has been built specifically to showcase the hammer.
All eyes will be on the decathletes when competition kicks off at Hayward Field on Friday. With the reigning Olympic champion Bryan Clay, World champion Trey Hardee and current World indoor record holder Ashton Eaton, competition for the title of Olympic Trials champion will be fierce. If all three men qualify for the Olympics, Team USA will be well positioned for an Olympic podium sweep.
The first final on the track will be the men’s and women’s 10,000 meter races Friday evening. Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.) will be looking for redemption after taking heart-wrenching fourth place finishes at the U.S. Olympic Trials - Marathon held in Houston earlier this year. Other athletes to watch include: Lisa Uhl (Portland, Ore.), Janet Bawcom (Rome, Ga.), Galen Rupp (Portland, Ore.), Matt Tegenkamp (Portland, Ore.), Bobby Curtis (Louisville, Ky.)
Over the next 10 days, the U.S. top track super stars will still have to put it all on the line in order to make Team USA, which is often dubbed as the “toughest team in the world to make.” With nearly 1,000 athletes set to compete, fan favorites are sure to include:
Carmelita Jeter (women’s 100m/200m)
Allyson Felix (women’s 100m/200m)
Sanya Richards-Ross (women’s 200m/400m)
Lolo Jones (women’s 100m hurdles)
Dawn Harper (women’s 100m hurdles)
Kellie Wells (women’s 100m hurdles)
Lashinda Demus (women’s 400m hurdles)
Jenny Simpson (women’s 1500m)
Molly Huddle (women’s 5,000m)
Chaunte Lowe (women’s high jump)
Brittney Reese (women’s long jump)
Jenn Suhr (women’s pole vault)
Jillian Camarena-Williams (women’s shot put)
Stephanie Brown-Trafton (women’s discus)
Hyleas Fountain (women’s heptathlon)
Tyson Gay (men’s 100m)
Walter Dix (men’s 100m/200m)
Justin Gatlin (men’s 100m/200m)
Wallace Spearmon (men’s 200m)
Lashawn Merritt (men’s 400m)
Jeremy Wariner (men’s 400m)
David Oliver (men’s 110m hurdles)
Jason Richardson (men’s 110m hurdles)
Bershawn Jackson (men’s 400m hurdles)
Angelo Taylor (men’s 400m hurdles)
Nick Symmonds (men’s 800m)
Andrew Wheating (men’s 800m/1500m)
Galen Rupp (5,00m/10,000m)
Bernard Lagat (men’s 5,000m)
Jesse Williams (men’s high jump)
Christian Taylor (men’s triple/long jump)
Will Claye (men’s triple/long jump)
Reese Hoffa (men’s shot put)
Christian Cantwell (men’s shot put)
A total of 12 hours of live track and field coverage will be a part of a record 67.5 hours of all of total Olympic Team Trials coverage for all sports by NBC in 2012. A full schedule is available at www.usatf.org
Fans and media members can also follow the action through live results, quotes, video interviews and daily recaps at www.usatf.org Declarations and starts lists will be published to www.usatf.org on a rolling schedule.
Follow along on social media on USATF’s, TrackTown USA's and the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Facebook pages, or on Twitter at @USATrack_Field, @USOlympic and @GoTrackTownUSA.
