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Coley Harvey, ESPN writer
EUGENE, Ore. – America’s athletic enthusiasts take great pride in saying something bold.
When it comes to qualifying for the Olympics, they argue their team is the hardest to put together in any sport in any country.
Given what happened in two electrifying men’s and women’s 200-meter races at the U.S. Olympic qualifiers on Saturday night, track and field fanatics may have a point.
“The United States has dominated. We have had at least two medalists at every world championship and Olympics since 2021,” said Noah Lyles, winner of the men’s 200m. “So for the 200, we definitely have a very, strong (chance) of sweeping it.”
For men like Lyles, Saturday’s final was business as usual. At the end of the hotly contested sprint, the top three were Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton respectively. It was long expected that some semblance of this trio would emerge from the last series and qualify for the Paris Games.
Although Bednarek took an early lead and appeared to be able to hold on late for the victory, it was ultimately Lyles’ world record time of 19.53 seconds that paced the field. Bednarek clocked 19.59 seconds and Knighton clocked 19.77 seconds.
“We were supposed to (sweep) in Tokyo,” Bednarek said. “But I’m confident we can get the job done this time. We all have to make sure we execute when it matters most and get the job done.”
Unlike his long celebratory jog until halfway through the next lap after winning the 100m final here last week, Lyles stopped much earlier on Saturday and slapped Bednarek’s hand away before realising what he had accomplished.
“I kind of got to the 200 because it’s getting harder and harder for me to celebrate, because I’ve kind of gotten on this winning streak a few times,” Lyles said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t try to take it for granted because it’s by far my favorite race.”
While the men’s race went as expected, it was a different story for the women.
Sha’Carri Richardson, the third-fastest woman in the event at last summer’s world championships, finished fourth in Saturday’s final and will therefore not compete in Paris. She will instead run only the 100m and take part in the relays at the Games.
Gabby Thomas, who won bronze in the 200m at the last Olympics, finished first Saturday night to qualify for Paris alongside NCAA champion McKenzie Long and veteran but new Olympian Brittany Brown.
“I feel like everything is falling into place and I’ve done my job,” Thomas said, “and now we’re going for a gold medal. »
As she had throughout the events, Thomas finished the final in 21.81 seconds. Brown won silver with a time of 21.90 seconds and Long, the NCAA 200-meter champion competing five months after her mother’s death, clocked 21.91 seconds.
“I know my mom was smiling cheek to cheek,” Long said, a smile forming on his own face. “I know she’s beyond proud of me and that’s all that matters to me.
“Just crossing that line, knowing that I’m now an Olympian, it’s so surreal.”
Crossing the finish line shortly after Thomas, Long reached out to her neighbor in the aisle and tapped her on the arm to get her attention. In one fluid motion, Thomas, the 200m bronze medalist in Tokyo, turned and hugged Long.
Right afterward, Thomas told Long what she had dreamed the night before: that the 23-year-old would be an Olympian.
“I was like, ‘You didn’t want to tell me that before you came out?'” Long said. “But yeah, that’s what she told me. She said, ‘I’m really, really proud of you. I literally tell her all the time, ‘I want to be you.’
“She is inspiring. That’s my goal, I want to be like Gabby Thomas. »
Thomas, 27, added: “For a young athlete to look at me and say that, it’s surreal, but it makes me happy. I really feel like it gives me a purpose. That’s why I do this: to inspire other girls.”
Just before the round, Long said Richardson pulled her aside and also gave her words of encouragement. Similarly, Richardson had to deal with learning about the loss of her own biological mother while competing in the events three years ago. She wanted Long to know she wasn’t alone in that, Long said.
While Richardson was the odd woman out of her heat, the men will travel to Paris without Christian Coleman, the world number one in the 100 meters who also failed to qualify in the 100, and Kyree King. Fourth and fifth places were 0.12 and 0.13 seconds behind third-place Knighton, respectively.
In other notable events Saturday:
• America’s best long jumper certainly knows how to put on a show. On her last attempt after two withdrawals, Tara Davis-Woodhall finally managed to launch herself from behind the springboard to avoid being eliminated.
After getting three more tries, she jumped 7 meters on the second to move from fifth to first place.
Davis-Woodhall remain unbeaten this season, but this time it was a thriller.
“I don’t want to put myself or you in that situation,” she said in an interview broadcast over the stadium’s public address system. “I’m sorry. But I’m going to Paris, sweetie!”
• Another sign of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s dominance in the 400 hurdles came in the semi-final.
Her time in the race where she was just trying to stay upright and move forward, 52.48 seconds, was the 2024 best time in the event.
McLaughlin-Levrone holds the world record at 50.68 seconds. On Sunday, she will race for a spot at the Olympics and a chance to defend her title.
• Weini Kelati won the 10,000 meters, 10 years after seeking asylum in the United States. Kelati traveled to Oregon as a teenager for the world junior championships and, without telling her friends or family, missed her flight back to Eritrea to start a new life.
Taken in by a relative, Kelati went to high school in Virginia and competed at the University of New Mexico, where she became a multiple-time All-American.
Now the 27-year-old has earned a trip to the Paris Olympics. Kelati held off Parker Valby of the University of Florida by less than half a second. Karissa Schweizer, who was part of the team for the 2021 Tokyo Games, finished third.
• Already a double world champion, Chase Jackson now has a new title: Olympian.
Jackson threw a season-best 20.10 meters to pass Raven Saunders, the masked Olympic silver medalist, in the shot put final. Jaida Ross was also on the team, which received a lot of applause. She is from the University of Oregon.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.