Hello and welcome back to the third day of KFH Guide to Eugene, here is everything you need to know before day three of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials. Yesterday was an exciting day as we saw the first sprint event’s final, the women’s 100m, more on that later. Today is going to be even more of an exciting day, because it is filled with 6 FINALS!!! 

The Schedule of Day Three

Rotd=Race of the day

All times in PDT

Heptathlon: Heats of Women’s 100m Hurdles at 10:00 am (12:00 pm CDT)

Heptathlon: Women’s High Jump at 11:23 am (1:23 pm CDT)

Final: Women’s Hammer Throw at 5:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT)

Final: Men’s Pole Vault at 5:45 pm (7:45 pm CDT)

Semifinals: Men’s 100m at 5:48 pm (7:48 pm CDT)

Heptathlon: Women’s Shot Put at 6:10 pm (8:10 pm CDT)

Semifinals: Women’s 800m at 6:11 pm (8:11 pm CDT)

Semifinals: Men’s 400m at 6:35 pm (8:35 pm CDT)

Final: Men’s Javelin Throw at 6:40 pm (8:40 pm CDT)

Final: Women’s 400m at 6:58 pm (8:58 pm CDT)

Final: Men’s Steeplechase at 7:07 pm (9:07 pm CDT)

Heptathlon: Heats of Women’s 200m at 7:26 pm (9:26 pm CDT)

ROTD/Final: Men’s 100m at 7:49 pm (9:49 pm CDT)

Big News in Eugene

Best Sprinter in the World, qualifies for her first Olympics

Sha’Carri Richardson, arguably the best sprinter in the world right now, coming from her winning the 100m, the 4x100m Relay, and then placing third in the 200m at the Budapest World Championships last year. Last Night, Richardson was able to check off a box that some will never get close to doing, qualifying for the Olympics. But, before I continue I would like to pause and say that in 2021 Richardson did qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but then her spot was stripped from her due to the finding of substances in a test Richardson took. With that out of the way, now I would like to talk about the race where Richardson truly checked that box and won the national title. All the way through the rounds Richardson was leading qualifiers with the fastest times. This didn’t stop in the finals, because Richardson chased down a very good start by Melissa Jefferson, and would go on to run a world lead of 10.71. Once again, I would like to pause, and explain for a second what a World Lead means for the readers that may not know. World Lead does not mean World Record, it is simply the fastest time ran in that year, all over the world. 

Two High Schoolers in two days qualify to the next round

We are now two days into the U.S. Olympic Trials and in those two days we have had two High Schoolers compete and advance into the semifinals, in their respective events. You have probably heard of him before, but one of the qualifiers was Quincy Wilson, the 16 year old standout from Bullis High School. Wilson won his first round heat in the men’s 400m in a new U18 World Record of 44.66 seconds. He will compete in the semifinals today. The second to qualify was Christian Miller, the 18 year old 100m standout, who placed 5th in his heat, which was just enough to qualify for the semis. Miller’s PR in the event is 9.93 seconds, which is an American U20 Record. Today, Miller will compete in the semifinals and then, if he qualifies the final later tonight. 

Race of The Day

The race of the day today is the men’s 100m dash, even though the field is not solidified as of writing this (semifinals happen before finals, and after newsletter posted), it will be filled with lots of fast men. Going into the semifinals, the top three qualifiers are Noah Lyles (First), Christian Coleman (Second), and Kenny Bednarek (Third). Lyles, the fastest in the world right now (More on him later) was the fastest qualifier after the first round, running a mark of 9.92, and winning his heat. Following Lyles, from a different heat, was Christian Coleman, Coleman won his heat, in a time of 9.99. Kenny Bednarek rounds out the top three with his time of 10.00, from Heat one (Lyles’ heat). I expect all three of these men to make it through to the final, and when they do I expect the final to be a great race, and that is why it is the race of the day. 

Athlete Spotlight

Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles, much like Sha’Carri Richardson, is also considered the fastest sprinter in the world, for the same reasons as Richardson. Noah will be attempting the same triple that he won at the Budapest World Championships, today he has his first final, and his first opportunity to punch his ticket to Paris. As I alluded to just earlier, the Men’s 100m is so good, and will make Lyles’ job harder, but more fun to watch, and you need to watch him today. 

Shamier Little

This may be surprising, but, if you had heard of Shamier Little before this it would’ve been because of her incredible performances in the 400m Hurdles, not the flat 400. Little is currently ranked 3rd in the world in the 400m Hurdles, and that is definitely her best event. However, at these Olympic Trials, the schedule worked out in favor of competing in the 400m-400m Hurdles double, which Little is competing in. Little is good at the 400m Hurdles, but is also really good at the flat 400m. Currently she is one of the fastest qualifiers to the final, and you need to watch her today. 

How to watch

TV: NBC: 5:30-8:00 pm PDT (7:30-10:00 pm CDT)

Streaming: Peacock