Olympic Trials: Women's 200m

Allyson Felix Crushes, Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards-Ross Qualify in 2nd Event

The US is so deep at the 200m for women, the final could very well have been the final at the Olympic games. Tianna Madison, Jeneba Tarmoh, Bianca Knight, and Kimberlyn Duncan could all have made the team for almost any other country, but will not be competing in London because of the devastatingly fast legs of Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter, and Sanya Richards-Ross.

In wet conditions, Allyson Felix blew the doors off of everyone, blazing the first 50m and increasing her lead on the straightaway. Her time of 21.69 seconds was a personal best and Trials record (wind +1.0m/s = legal), and she won the race by .42 ahead of Carmelita Jeter. Jeter was the winner in the 100m a week ago, and Richards-Ross of course won the 400m. Ross became the first American woman to pull off the 400/200 double.

Felix broke the Trials record of 21.77 set by the great Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988, and became the 4th fastest woman at the distance in history.

Winning the award for Most Awkward Commentating were the staff of NBC, as both Lewis and Dwight cornered Felix and Tarmoh immediately following their race to ask about their decision regarding the 100m tiebreaker. Both women graciously deflected the question, saying that they had not discussed it yet but would likely do that tonight or tomorrow. As of right now there has been no decision made, but the duo's coach, Bobby Kersee, has said that they will not run earlier than Tuesday if it is a run-off scenario.

Personal opinion: Felix doesn't stand a chance in the 100m, at least not for gold, and likely not for a medal at all. The field is too deep. Focus on the 200m, and save yourself the couple of races. Run the 4x100m. Give the spot to Tarmoh.

Women's 200m results (usatf.org)

1 Allyson Felix Nike 21.69 M

2 Carmelita Jeter Nike 22.11

3 Sanya Richards-Ross Nike 22.22

4 Kimberlyn Duncan L S U 22.34
5 Jeneba Tarmoh Nike 22.35
6 Tianna Madison Saucony 22.50
7 Bianca Knight adidas 22.60
8 Aurieyall Scott U C F 22.68

Olympic Trials: Women's 200m Semifinals

Normally I wouldn't make a big deal out of a semi-final, but did you see this?

2 Allyson Felix Nike 22.30 Q +0.8 [22.297] 0.234
3 Jeneba Tarmoh Nike 22.30 Q +3.4 [22.298] 0.169

Alright so they didn't run in the same heat, but how weird is it that Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh - who literally are still tied in the 100m from the other day - ran the SAME DAMN TIME. Once again they were calculated down to the thousandth of a second, and this time it was Felix given the nod by 1/1000. Of course, Tarmoh had a monster tailwind, while Felix's was at least legal, but look at the reaction times. Felix is going to have to get a better start if she's going to beat her training partner, Tarmoh, in the final!

And meanwhile Sanya Richards-Ross crushes her heat in 22.15. Pretty interesting for someone so focused on the 400m to have the fastest time in the world this year for 200m. Carmelita Jeter finished 2nd to Felix in their heat and was the slowest of the qualifiers. Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU advances, as did Bianca Knight and Tianna Madison, who made the 100m team.

 Charonda Williams, Lauryn Williams, LaShaunte'a Moore, and Under Armour's Natasha Hastings were non-qualifiers.

200m semifinals results (usatf.org)

1 Sanya Richards-Ross Nike 22.15 Q
2 Allyson Felix Nike 22.30 Q
3 Jeneba Tarmoh Nike 22.30 Q
4 Tianna Madison Saucony 22.33 Q
5 Bianca Knight adidas 22.34 q
6 Kimberlyn Duncan L S U 22.37 Q
7 Aurieyall Scott U C F 22.56 q
 8 Carmelita Jeter Nike 22.64 Q

Olympic Trials: Day 3

Women's 400m: No Surprise There

Sanya Richards-Ross equaled the Trials record by running the incredibly quick time of 49.28 seconds. She was clear of 2nd, Dee Dee Trotter, by 7/10th of a second, and 3rd, Francena McCorory, by another 4/10th. Obviously no surprise. Bummer for Natasha Hastings, who runs for Under Armour. Guess they'll just have to keep making really good running shoes #stuffnobodysays.

1 Sanya Richards-Ross Nike 49.28
2 Dee Dee Trotter Saucony 50.02
3 Francena McCorory adidas 50.43
4 Debbie Dunn Nike 50.78
5 Diamond Dixon Kansas 50.88
6 Keshia Baker Saucony 51.23
7 Natasha Hastings Under Armour 51.28
8 Jessica Beard adidas 51.52

Men's Long Jump: Top 2 Jump Barely Farther Than Ashton Eaton Did

Marquis Goodman and Will Claye were the only two long jumpers to go farther than the jump of decathlete, Ashton Eaton. Goodman jumped 27'4" and Claye's best jump was 27'0". Probably worth nothing that they had a big tailwind. Third went to George Kitchens, Jr., with a jump of 26'11.75". Our buddy, Christian Taylor, finished just out of the money in 4th. His best jump wouldn't have made the A standard anyway. Cheer up, Christian - you have the triple jump to look forward to!

Women's Pole Vault: Expected Results

1 Jennifer Suhr adidas 15-1
2 Becky Holliday Unattached 14-11
3 Lacy Janson Nike 14-9

I don't think there was too much question about those results.