A high-school student from California made waves at the U.S. Olympic Trials by placing 10th in the women's 1500-meter finals. In the semifinals, 16-year-old Jordan Hasay set the national high school record for the 1500m: 4:14.50. Although she won't proceed to Beijing, Hasay will have several more Olympic opportunities. Video and results from the women's 1500 are below.
Alan Webb finished 5th yesterday in the 1500-meter finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials. This result is a surprise to many given Webb's recent performances. Webb is the American record holder in the mile with a time of 3:46.91. His is also three-time national champion in the 1500. Just last year he ran a 3:30.54, the fastest 1500 time in the world for 2007.
Below is a video of the 1500-meter race from the Olympic Trials. Lagat, Manzano, and Lomong took the top three spots and qualified for the 1500m in Beijing.
Today, July 3, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials start back up. Events will be aired throughout the entire holiday weekend. Here is the television schedule for the track and field events.
Just weeks after Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record, Tyson Gay, a 25-year-old from Kentucky, has run 100 meters even faster. Although Gay's finishing time was 9.68 seconds (0.04 seconds faster than Bolt), he has not officially set the world record because his effort was wind aided with a tail wind of 4.1m/s. In sprinting events, any tail wind over 2.0m/s nullifies an attempt at a world record.
Gay's time was booked today at the US Olympic Track & Field trials held in Eugene, Oregon. Previously, the record for the fastest 100 meters run under any conditions was 9.69 seconds with a 5.0 m/s push, by Obadele Thompson in 1996.
Video:
For some consolation, Tyson Gay does officially hold the US record for the 100 meter race. He put up a legal time of 9.77 seconds just yesterday at the qualifying rounds of the US Olympic trials.
It looks like Beijing's 100 meter finals are going to be VERY exciting.
ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece — The Olympic marathon in Beijing won't be tarnished by world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie's decision to skip the event because of pollution concerns, IOC president Jacques Rogge said in an interview with the Associated Press.
"While I regret the absence of Haile Gebrselassie, I respect his decision. But the Games are far stronger than the individual. The marathon will be a great success and there will be a great champion."
The 34-year-old Ethiopian runner, a two-time Olympic 10,000-meter champion, said earlier this month he won't run the marathon at the Beijing Games because of the city's air pollution, heat and humidity. He may still run in the 10,000.
"It's going to be the hardest marathon in history," said Gebrselassie, who holds the world record of two hours four minutes 26 seconds.
Pollution - in addition to the violence in Tibet and other human rights issues - has been a major concern for China and the International Olympic Committee in the lead up to the August Olympics. Some athletes are reportedly considering wearing masks to ward off the bad air in Beijing.
While Belgian tennis star Justine Henin has expressed concern that the pollution could aggravate her asthma, Rogge said the four-time French Open champion will definitely compete in Beijing and her "No. 1 goal" of the year is to win the gold medal.
The IOC released data last week indicating that air quality in Beijing is better than expected, but athletes in outdoor endurance events could face risks.
Rogge said the figures show there is "no danger whatsoever" for athletes competing in high-intensity events lasting under an hour, but that those involved in endurance events longer than that - such as the marathon, road cycling and triathlon - could be affected by poor air.
Rogge reiterated that if pollution levels surpass a certain threshold, those events could be postponed until the air clears. The men's marathon is traditionally held on the final day of the Games.
"We could easily postpone for a couple of hours or start at an earlier hour. I'm not very worried about that."
