The anticipation of Day 8 was big because there were seven event finals and six of them had huge story lines. Both long hurdle races and both 1500 races along with the men's 200 final were the talk of trials for many. The fact that they fell on the final day added to the drama. The men's hurdles were full of drama as a former world champ was left home and a past Olympic gold medalist made his fourth team. The women's race was a mix of long time vets and a collegian who didn't even make the NCAA final (she fell) are off to London. The women's 1500 and long jump competitions saw the favorites do their thing and advance. The men's 1500 was going to leave some real talent at home. The US depth in this event has really grown and is still quite young. However, a couple of hometown guys and a big time kicker were able to secure spots.
The women's 100 was looking forward to a run off today for the third and final spot due to a dead heat in the final, however one of the competitors gave up the spot. She will still represent the US on the sprint relay team.
As you can imagine it was an amazing experience being among over 20K fans each day watching the events live. Everyday there were amazing performances despite weather conditions that were often less than idea. This was my fourth OT's in a row and it was probably the best one yet as I was able to see several meet records, yearly world bests, and a World Record. There is no doubt the 2016 OT's (where ever they are held) have a lot to live up to in order to compare to this year's version.
No comments:
Post a Comment