Olympic Trials: Day 3

Tyson Gay is the fastest man in the world...almost.

Had it not been for a faster-than-legal wind (reference the photo), Gay would have set his second record in as many days. As it was, he provided an appropriate exclamation point on day three of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Gay looked incredibly smooth in running an astounding 9.68 seconds in the men's 100-meter final. Under all conditions, it is the fastest 100-meter time ever run by a human being. The allowable wind for records in the sprints in +2.0 meters per second. The race had a +4.1 wind reading.

Gay and the rest of the 100 meters field put the world on notice that the United States will be a force to be reckoned with in the sprints. A total of six runners in the race turned in times under 10 seconds, including fellow Olympians Walter (9.80) and Darvis Patton (9.84), along with Travis Padgett (9.85), Rodney Martin (9.97) and Leroy Dixon (9.99). Seventh-place finisher Michael Roberts finished in a paltry 10.01 seconds. Dix's time of 9.80 seconds is the fastest ever run by a collegiate athlete (2008 grad of Florida State).

The 100 was certainly the culminating event on what has been the shortest day of the trials thus far. The first five rounds of the decathlon began at 10:00 a.m., with the bulk of the other events not beginning until 2:25. All was said and one by 5:00 p.m.

Other highlights from day three...
• Defending Olmypic champion Jeremy Wariner made his first appearance of the meet in the 400-meter preliminaries. The former Baylor standout simply cruised, pulling up to a near complete stop at the finish line while still winning his heat in 46.04 seconds. It was the slowest heat of the four preliminary rounds, but I don't expect Wariner to hold back in tomorrow's semifinals.

• 35-year-old Derek Miles earned his second trip to the Olympics and his first U.S. outdoor title, winning the pole vault with a mark of 19 feet, 0.25 inches. Brad Walker, who set the new American record at Hayward Field in the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month, finished third (18-6.5) to make his first Olympic team. "This year was much more stressful than previous years," Miles said in the post-event press conference. "At 35, I knew this was probably my last chance to make an Olympic team. There was way more pressure for me this year."

• Sanya Richards' comeback to top form appears to be well underway. Richards owned the fastest time in the women's 400-meter preliminaries at 51.08 seconds. Dee Dee Trotter, who won gold with the 2004 1,600-meter relay team, ran 51.97 seconds in the fourth heat while running out of lane 8.

• Lashinda Demus found herself out of a spot at the Olympics. The 2006 outdoor champion who missed the 2007 season after giving birth to twins, Demus owned the second fastest time entering the women's 400-meter hurdles final. Tiffany Ross-Williams ran away with the race, winning in 54.03 seconds. Demus, who ran 54.76, was outleaned at the tape by Queen Harrison (54.60) and Sheena Tosta (54.62). For a time, Demus had been disqualified for a trail-leg violation (back leg around the hurdle as opposed to over it), but was later overturned.

HUMOROUS MOMENTS: Some ironies from the weekend...
• The men's 100-meter final had a false start when Xavier Carter jumped out the blocks early in lane 8. He was not charged with a false start, however, after officials determined it was caused by the crowd. Never mind that the crowd was dead silent.

• Some protests have taken place near Hayward Field against Olympics' host China and their human rights record. While I respect their right to protest, I did have to laugh when some protesters came up to one of the security entrances for the meet and asked how to get to the protest.

WHAT TO WATCH ON MONDAY: The fever-pitched event that has been the men's 800 meters will all come to the final tomorrow. Former Willamette star and current Oregon Track Club athlete Nick Symmonds owns the fastest time entering the finals, while Oregon standout and crowd favorite Andrew Wheating owns the second fastest time. We shall see if their kicks will get them through to the Olympic team. Former Klamath Union HS star Ian Dobson will try for a spot in the 5,000-meter final, as will current Oregon star Galen Rupp. Also finals in the women's 800 (which will feature 12 athletes thanks to Saturday's four-athlete pile-up) and the women's javelin.
BLAKE'S DOCKET FOR MONDAY: With the bulk of the track events not starting until 6 p.m., I will have some time to explore. Hopefully a morning run followed by attending the Track & Field Writers Association Breakfast, which will feature Oregon coach Vin Lananna and U.S. Olympic coach Bubba Thornton. After that, I hope to take more time to explore the festival surrounding the field and take a nap.