Dix, Felix Win 200m; Lagat, Rowbury Take 1,500
POSTED: 8:35 pm PDT July 6,
2008
Eugene, OR -- (Sports Network) - Walter Dix narrowly edged out Shawn Crawford for first place in a thrilling men's 200 meters final Sunday to highlight the final day of competition at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic trials from historic Hayward Field.All told, there were finals in 11 events during a hectic day of competition from the campus of the University of Oregon and none were closer than the 200- meter battle between Dix and Crawford. Dix, who already qualified for the Summer Games with a second-place finish in the 100 meters last weekend, and Crawford, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 200, both finished the race in a track record time of 19.86 seconds. However, a closer look at the footage showed Dix edged Crawford by the narrowest of margins and he would eventually be awarded first place. Also punching a ticket to China in the 200 meters was Wallace Spearmon, who ran the race in 19.90 seconds. Dix, last year's NCAA Outdoor champion in both the 100 and 200 meters for Florida State, and Spearmon will both be making their Olympic debuts later this summer. "It was definitely a great meet," said Dix. "They should have the Olympic Trials here every time. I couldn't be more excited about a meet than this one. I have never been in an atmosphere like this." Dix will also be the lone American man competing in Beijing in both the 100 and 200 meters since Tyson Gay, the defending world champion in both the 100 and 200, failed to advance past the quarterfinal round of the 200 on Saturday. Gay failed to finish after pulling up lame on the curve and needed to be carted off the track. An MRI taken on Saturday revealed a mild strain in the back of Gay's left thigh. Gay had already qualified for a trip to Beijing with his win in the 100 meters final last Sunday. He is expected to partake in light physical activity over the next two weeks and still plans on running in a pre-Olympic race in London on July 25. Allyson Felix took first place in the women's 200 meters with a wind-aided time of 21.82 seconds. Felix, the silver medalist in the 200 at the Athens Games, qualified for her second Olympics. Muna Lee, last weekend's winner in the women's 100 meters, took second place in the 200 with a time of 21.99 seconds. This is also the second trip to the Summer Games for Lee, who finished seventh in the 200 four years ago. Marshevet Hooker finished third with a time of 22.20 seconds, edging out Lauryn Williams with a dive at the finish line. Hooker, who finished fourth in the women's 100 meters, is headed to her first Games. Bernard Lagat won the 5,000 meters earlier this week and also took the final of the 1,500m on Sunday with a time of 3:40.37. Lagat, a Washington State University alum and native Kenyan, will be competing in his first Olympics for the United States. He won two Olympic medals in the 1,500 for Kenya, taking the silver four years ago in Athens and the bronze at the 2000 Sydney Games. Leonel Manzano came in a close second to Lagat with a time of 3:40.90, and Lopez Lomong came in third at 3:41.00. Manzano and Lomong will be competing in their first Olympic Games. Shannon Rowbury won the women's 1,500 meter final, turning in a time of 4:05.48 to make her first-ever Olympics. The 2007 NCAA Indoor mile champion for Duke, Rowbury had a long road back to competing after that collegiate victory as she battled a stress fracture in her hip that kept her out of action for most of the second half of last year. Erin Donohue and Christin Wurth will also be joining Rowbury in Beijing as first-time Olympians. Donohue came in second at 4:08.20 and Wurth was a close third with a time of 4:08.48. Both the men and women completed competition in the hurdle sprints Sunday, as David Oliver won the men's 110 meter hurdles with a time of 12.95 seconds and Lolo Jones came in first in the women's 100 meter hurdles by running the race in 12.29 seconds. Both Oliver and Jones will be making their Olympic debuts later this summer. Joining Oliver in Beijing for the 110m hurdles will be two-time Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell and first-time Olympian David Payne. Trammell came in second at 13 seconds flat and Payne was third with a time of 13.25 seconds to finish just ahead of Aries Merritt. After Jones, it was Damu Cherry finishing next in 12.58 seconds and Dawn Harper narrowly defeated Nichole Denby for the third Beijing berth with a time of 12.62 seconds. Cherry and Harper both qualified for their first Olympic Games. An American record fell in the women's pole vault as Jennifer Stuczynski broke her own mark by clearing 4.92 meters (16-01.75 ft). Her previous record of 4.90 meters was set in May of this year. The two-time U.S. Outdoor champion will be headed to her first Summer Games. Joining Stuczynski in China will be April Steiner Bennett and Erica Bartolina, who finished second and third, respectively. Not headed to Beijing is Stacy Dragila, the first-ever gold medalist in women's pole vault at the 2000 Summer Games. Dragila, a nine-time U.S. Outdoor champ, came in seventh to miss out on her third straight trip to the Olympics. Aarik Wilson won the men's triple jump final, breaking a 22-year-old Hayward Field record with a best jump of 17.43 meters (57-02.25 ft). Wilson was last year's U.S. champion at both the indoor and outdoor events and will be headed to his first Olympics. Kenta Bell and Rafeeq Curry finished second and third, respectively. Curry will also be competing in his first Olympics, while Bell is going to his second Games. Ian Waltz, a two-time U.S. champion, won the men's discus final with a throw of 65.87 meters (216-01 feet) and will be headed to his second Olympic Games. Waltz will be joined in Beijing by Michael Robertson and Casey Malone, who finished second and third, respectively. In the men's javelin, it was Bobby Smith taking the competition with a best throw of 76.06m meters (249-06 ft) with Mike Hazle coming in second and Brian Chaput finishing third. All three throwers will be headed to their first Olympic Games.
The first event of the day was the women's 20km race walk and Joanne Dow won the competition with a time of 1:35:11. The 44-year-old Dow, a three-time U.S. champion, will be headed to her first Olympics and will also be the only American headed to Beijing in this event as the second and third-place finishers have never reached the Olympic A standard.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.












