The end of the Olympic Trials on Sunday, July 10th marked the beginning for Gil Roberts, Boris Berian, Conor McCullough, Allyson Felix, Arianna Washington, Brenda Martinez, Brianna Rollins, Dalilah Muhammad, Whitney Ashley, and Barbara Nwaba, who now embark on their Olympic experience in Rio De Janeiro.
Halfway through the trials, USATF So Cal athletes Felix, Ashley, Roberts, and Berian earned spots on Team USA. Highlights of the second half of the trials were Muhammad, Rollins, Martinez, McCullough, and Nwaba all earning top 3 finishes to punch their tickets to Rio.
Muhammad and Rollins both finished 1st in the 400m hurdles and 100m hurdles, respectively, as well as Nwaba, from the Santa Barbara Track Club who took 1st place in the women’s heptathlon. Martinez grabbed her spot to Rio with a spectacular dive at the finish line to clinch 3rd in the women’s 1500m. On the men’s side, hammer thrower McCullough finished in 3rd place and although he has not met the Olympic qualifying standard, has been invited to participate in the Games by the IAAF to fill the field. USATF relay pools were announced and included So Cal sprinter Arianna Washington on the women’s 4x100m and superstar Allyson Felix on the women’s 4x400m relay.
Other notable men’s performances from the second half of the Trials included Jason Harrell 4th place in the discus and Colin Dunbar’s 7th place hammer finish. The men’s 110m hurdles included good performances from both Aleec Harris and Ryan Wilson who finished in 7th and 9th, respectively. Vista Murrieta High School graduate Michael Norman Jr, finished an impressive 5th in the men’s 200m.
On the women’s side, So Cal athletes performed well both on the track and in the field. The women’s 200m featured 3 SCA females in the final, with a 4th place finish by Felix, a 5th place finish from Washington, and an 8th place finish by Jeneba Tarmoh. In the 100m hurdles, Dawn Harper finished 9th, just missing advancing to the final. Kori Carter finished 4th and Jaide Stepter finished 7th in the 400m hurdles. The women’s heptathlon featured 4 top 10 finishers from Southern California, including Sharon Day-Monroe in 4th, and Santa Barbara Track Club teammates Lindsay Schwartz, 9th, and Lindsay
Lettow, 10th, complimenting Nwaba’s 1st.
Track and field action in Rio takes place from August 12-21.
2016 USATF So Cal Athletes Heading for Rio
Men
Boris Berian (800m)
Conor McCullough (Hammer Throw)
Gil Roberts (400m)
Women
Whitney Ashley (Discus Throw)
Allyson Felix (400m, 4x400m)
Brenda Martinez (1500m)
Dalilah Muhammad (400m Hurdles)
Barbara Nwaba (Heptathlon)
Brianna Rollins (100m Hurdles)
Arianna Washington (4x100m)
