Deejah Stevens took second at 22.30 and Jenna Prandini edged Felix out for third as she tumbled towards the finish line, beating her by.01. She finished fifth in the event on Sunday at the European Championships in Amsterdam with a time of 4:34.41.
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The last gasp-effort by Martinez, a crowd favorite after her misfortune in the 800, was successful. Felix will compete in her fourth Olympics, but will only run the 400 meters, which she won at the trials on July 3. She’s the first to qualify for Team USA’s track team at that age in 40 years, and given that most runners peak in the early to mid 20s, this could be beginning of something special.
Okolo was sixth in the 400-meter at Olympic Trials, only 0.02 seconds behind McCorory.
“I learned not to get my head down about things”, she said of her first Olympic trials experience. Huddle and Conley finished second and third in the 5,000-meter final at the 2012 trials. “When I give all I have and I run 22.50 [sic, 22.54], the speed just wasn’t there”. I got good experience, so I just got to progress from here. But that’s why McLaughlin appreciates Felix – those kinds of setbacks don’t get her down. I don’t get paid for this.
Understandably, Felix was disappointed at losing a shot at the double.
“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. Runner-up Robby Andrews and third-place finisher Ben Blankenship also are headed to Rio.
Former Sioux City East prep and NCAA champion Shelby Houlihan ran a personal best 15:06.14 to finish second in the women’s 5,000 meters Sunday.
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.
Fast fact: Teenager Sydney McLaughlin can juggle on a unicycle. I think the slow start to the race put a damper on my racing style, where I like more of a steady pace, and the constant pickup throughout the race was really hard for me to keep up with. “You hope for this since you’re a little girl”.
I just want to say thank you to everyone who encouraged me through this whole journey, Ostrander said.
NJ.com dished in a separate report that Sydney McLaughlin, the fast-rising track & field star, is turning 17 years old on August 7, two days after the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro opens. She sounded like it. But late in the race she fell back, eventually finishing 8th with a time of 15:24:74. Kerron Clement (48.50), Byron Robinson (48.79) and Michael Tinsley (48.82) were Team USA’s Olympic qualifiers in the event. “In better conditions, 16-1/4, the same jump she had to win the indoor world championship”.
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Webster city native and former world champion Jenny Simpson finished in first place in the women’s 1,500 Sunday with a time of 4 minutes, 4.74 seconds.
