“I’ll cross the bridge to Rio when I get on the plane”.
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The usually dominant Felix was so close to qualifying in Rio in the 200 meter, and an ankle injury that occurred earlier this year may have made the difference.
Kynard, 25, one of the top high jumpers in the world, has a shot a second Olympic medal. Her dance background and supremely expressive face make her a crowd favorite whenever she performs.
And although Felix secured her ticket to Brazil by winning the women’s 400m in OR, the 30-year-old will not be able to defend the 200m gold she won in London four years ago. It felt longer than the race itself, but eventually Prandini’s name was fixed next to a time of 22.53. “When you’ve just done so much hard work and just put a lot of hours into something, you want it to turn out like a masterpiece”.
Behind the pair, Prandini just held off a strong stretch run from Felix, the 400 victor last weekend.
Felix had hoped to become the third American to complete the 200-400 double, following Valerie Brisco-Hooks (1984) and Michael Johnson (1996).
When the two crossed the finish line behind victor Tori Bowie and second-place Deajah Stevens, it was so close it wasn’t immediately clear who had finished third to secure the final qualifying spot.
“I think it was just a lack of speed work”, Felix told reporters.
“I’m willing to put everything into it and clean up those details and really just push myself”. She is among the 68 Russians who have petitioned the Court of Arbitration for Sport to compete.
As she neared the finish line, three time Olympian Allyson Felix closed in on her.
“But when I look back and I see everything that happened I think it’s quite unbelievable I was able to make this team”, said Felix, who will be in the relay pool.
Bowie already had made the U.S. Olympic Team in the 100 by placing third in the final earlier in the Trials.
Biles’ spot on the team has all but been guaranteed for years, but the most decorated female medalist at world championships locked it up by virtue of a 2.1-point win in the trials competition.
Felix finished her semifinal in 22.57 seconds.
The race was won by Dalilah Muhammad, who clocked the fastest time of the year, 52.88.
She qualified with a time 49.68 which is the fastest time run this year.
“I gave it all I had but it just wasn’t there today”, said Felix, who two months ago could not even walk because of a sprained ankle. But gymnastics isn’t like swimming and track and field where trials winners advance to the Olympics and the losers stay home. She sounded like it.
Afterward, Efraimson said she was satisfied with her performance in the race. Karolyi will be in charge and she will expect Douglas to respond as she did last fall, when she shook off sluggish preparations to capture silver at the 2015 world championships behind Biles. She has won 15 national titles in her career.
Sharon Day-Monroe came less than two seconds from making a third Olympic team, finishing fourth in the heptathlon.
“I always said I wanted to compete against the best”, Suhr said.
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The only real drama heading into the final night of trials centered on who would join Biles.
