On the seventh day of competition at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, the action on the track was book-ended by two incredible 200 meter finals.
First was the women’s final. There was much hype around Sha’Carri Richardson following her semi-final run the day prior, during which she equaled her personal best time of 21.92 while seemingly putting on the brakes ahead of the finish line. Much like the 100 meters, she appeared to be a favorite for the podium heading into the final. Gabby Thomas, the Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo, had the top qualifying time out of those semis, having run a world leading 21.78 seconds to secure her place in the final.
After a clean start in the final race, Gabby Thomas had a slight advantage through the turn, with much the rest of the field in contention to the straightaway. It was at that point that Jenna Prandini and Abby Steinder in lanes four and five began to fade compared to Thomas, Richardson, Brittany Brown, and McKenzie Long. As the women came through the line, it was Thomas, Brown, and Long in the top-three positions, with Sha’Carri just off the podium in fourth.
The day’s top finishers all ran under 22 seconds, with Thomas finishing in 21.81, Brittany Brown in a personal best of 21.90, and McKenzie Long, the recent NCAA Champion from Ole Miss, in 21.91. Richardson finished in 22.16 seconds.
To close the show on Saturday night, we had the men’s 200 meters. Much like the 100 meters, the showman Noah Lyles and the ever-stoic Kenny Bednarek came in with good claim to the title. Though also like that 100m, there was a full filled of world-class talent, including Christian Coleman, who had finished in fourth earlier in the week. This time, in lieu of Fred Kerley, Erriyon Knighton would be on the line to round out the four favorites, though Kyree King and Courtney Lindsey were also eyeing an opportunity to play spoiler.
Arguably in their better events, Lyles and Bednarek were ahead early out of the blocks and leading the field. Kenny, in lane eight, was setting the tempo for the field. He said earlier in the year that he likes being on the outside to play ‘Catch me if you can’ with his competitors. Noah, in lane six, was up to the challenge. As expected, however, Coleman, in lane five with his explosive start, was ahead early.
As the trio came to the straight away, they had begun to separate from the field, and it looked like it was their race to the finish. Erriyon Knighton, the 20-year-old who had not raced this year coming into these Trials, however, was beginning to pick up ground on Coleman. Knighton’s long stride was inching on Coleman’s third place position with each step toward the finish line.
As they broke the proverbial tape, it was Lyles with the Trials win, running a meet record and world leading time of 19.53 seconds, with Bednarek in a personal best of 19.59, and Knighton in 19.77. Coleman would once again finish fourth, finishing in 19.89.
Full results from these Trials are available here from USATF
