View from Section 123

Jack and Steve are in Eugene for the Olympic Trials and will be giving their daily observations, with a View from Section 123

Day 11: Heading Home

The Trials are over and Eugene airport is packed with happy and disappointed athletes.

Pic 1 has Katie Moon’s poles alongside Sandi Morris’s.

Pic 2 has Courtney Wayment and Whittni Morgan who is in a third category – still not sure if she is headed to Paris! If Parker Valby chooses to focus only on the 10k, as Elle St Pierre has chosen to focus only on the 1500m, Whittni becomes a 5k Olympian. Rooting for her!

Day 10: What a Thrill

The English language doesn’t have enough superlatives to adequately describe the last day of the Trials. Simply WOW. To have Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone finish off an afternoon of historically amazing performances with a world record was fitting.

One performance that was invisible to most, but super meaningful to our group of Bucknell alumni was Evie Bliss in the javelin. Evie is 19 years old and just completed her freshman year at Bucknell. Obviously this was the biggest stage she has experienced in her young athletic life…and she fangirl’d over the chance to be in an event with Kara Winger. Yet she delivers! Sixth place with a shiny new PR.

Day 9: The Long Jump was Everything

Not sure how the long jump drama played out on TV. Back and forth with late jump heroics. The winner Tara Davis-Woodhall fouled in her first two attempts and made a “safe” effort on her third try just to be sure of making the final 8. Next jump was a little better but she was still in 5th after 4 attempts. Then she let go a 7.00 (22-113/4) that would prove to be the winner.

Quanesha Burks had seen her placing fall from 3rd to 4th to 5th by the time her 6th round jump came around. She then leapt 6.80 (22-33/4) to move into 3rd and a spot on the team. But that was only temporary.

Monae’ Nichols had been in 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd. She was in 3rd even though she had the same mark as Lex Brown but was ahead on the basis of a better second mark. But Lex Brown moved ahead in the 5th round by dint of a better second jump. So Brown was actually in third when the final round started and was bumped by Burks’ effort. Still with me?

Well, Nichols then settled the whole thing with a 6.86 final effort that got her third and the Olympic qualifying standard. A lot of hugs and tears after that. This was the Olympic Trials at its best.

Texas Longhorn grad Tara celebrated her win by tossing cowboy hat necklaces into the stands. Jack snared one of them.

Day 8: Bison!

The fan experience escalates a ton when you feel like you have a meaningful connection to an athlete. Eleven Bucknellians, including Steve and I, loudly cheered for Bucknell freshman Evie Bliss in the javelin prelims…and did she ever deliver! Evie set a PR and finished 8th in the prelims which puts her in Sunday’s Javelin final.

Pic of Steve and I and nine other Bucknellians with Evie and Coach Protzman after her throw. Looking forward to go nuts for her again during the javelin final on Sunday.

Day 7: Easiest Efforts?

First, I’m so glad I got to thoroughly enjoy the Trials tonight, instead of watching the grim Presidential debate. The women’s steeplechase in particular had everything. The first 9 (!) finishers ran the fastest times of their lives!

In their quest to make the Olympic team athletes call on the maximum physical and mental effort  they can muster – but there are rare instances when it looks way too easy. I counted five of those “piece of cake” moments tonight. 

I ranked them in descending order:

5th easiest – Bryce Hoppel and Hobbs Kessler laughing and high-fiving as they crossed the finish line first in the 800m prelims.

4th easiest – Valarie Allman steps in the ring on her very first discus throw, does her balletic thing and the gold medal is hers, by a wide margin.

3rd easiest and 2nd easiest – Rai Benjamin and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were each able to shut down their effort very very early in their 400 hurdles heat wins. Amazingly dominant. 

#1 easiest moment – Somehow the second heat of the women’s 200 meters had two scratches which five runners needing to finish in the top five to qualify for the next round. Yes, these five women could have walked for 200 meters and still advanced!

Isaiah Jewett‘s family sat behind us tonight.  As his heat in the 800 drew closer, their anxiety ramped up.  We nearly had to call the EMTs when he lost his balance in the set position and the starter called the runners back up; they were afraid he was going to get DQed for a false start.  The starter’s pistol brought some release and they were thrilled as he cruised effortlessly through the first 770 meters.  Assured of a top six place, Isaiah eased up near the finish.  But, from the family’s view in the stands, it appeared that he might have put his automatic qualifier in jeopardy and the EMTs were on standby again.  Only when the scoreboard flashed the results did they breathe normally. In their honor we will slightly modify John Milton’s line to read, “They serve who also stand and watch.”

Days 5 & 6: Off Days

A question associated attending the Olympic Trials for every spectator/fan is “what to do on the off days?” Some people head to the beautiful Oregon coast and some fill the free time with hikes, bike rides or golf. All are glorious choices that add to the Trials experience, and the beauty of the coast is pictured below.

I’ll add one more unique opportunity for the “off days”: T&F celebrity sightings! There are 2-3 spots in town that are guaranteed to deliver the chance to see our sport’s top athletes out in the wild. Last night included sightings or brief chats with at least 15 current and past superstars. Is there any other major sport with athletes who are as accessible and as first class as track and field?

When we went golfing on Monday, all the rental clubs were gone. The guy before us had rented two sets and was kind enough to let me use one of them. Wouldn’t let me pay for it either. Conversation with him revealed his daughter was competing in discus that night. And what would an off day be without another round of golf? This time with Craig Engels (pictured below), Joe Rubio (Running Warehouse), Craig Lutz (HOKA), Jesse Williams (Sound Running), and Jeff Atkinson (1988 1500m Olympian).

Day 4: Special Moments

On Saturday night I got the chance to meet Quincy Hall at the Wild Duck Cafe. His quiet confidence really struck me. I walked away from our chat thinking, “this guy is really ready to make some noise at this event.” Fast forward to today and Quincy runs down Michael Norman to win the Olympic Trials 400 meters!

Seeing Vashti Cunningham talking to her father Randall Cunningham between jumps was really cool – not just for the coaching aspect (and the sucker I am for special father-daughter connections), but holy cow – that’s Randall Cunningham! When Vashti was fighting for third, and fell back into pit in relief after clearing 1.92m to win the jumpoff, it was a reminder of tough these Trials are. A single centimeter can mean a life changing moment…and the relief the athletes must feel when they finish and can say, “It is done and I did it!”

Speaking of Vashti Cunningham and Michael Norman, you really can’t beat the view!

And about running into athletes in the concourses we talked about yesterday – this place really is like nowhere else!

Day 3: Appreciation

It is difficult to fully express how incredible the atmosphere is here in Eugene. The facilities are amazing and the place is absolutely filled with people who love the sport…not to mention the chance you will run into an athlete while in the alleyways (at the 2022 World Championships, we saw both Karsten Warholm and Mutaz Barshim walking the concourse).

All that to say, the ‘views’ here are really like none other. You feel so close to the action on the track and are simultaneously in a world that connects the athletes with the fans. Like many other live sports, often times the best seat is on your couch, where the camera often has the best angle, and that can be true at times here too, but the electric nature of the 100 meter final that makes the hairs stand up on your arms, the collective gasp when Kate Grace fell at the finish line in the 800m semifinal, or when Curtis Thompson let go of that giant 83m throw to solidify his javelin victory – those moments are when sitting here in section 123 at Hayward Field really hits home.

Day 2: Superlatives

Most bummed out Olympian: Joe Kovacs

Joe dominates all year, both because he’s crushing it and because Ryan Crouser has been sidelined. Ryan returns at this meet and steals the show. Noted Joe literally being pushed aside by photographers in their haste to get a shot at Ryan. We love you Joe!

Best veteran statement: Kendall Ellis

Absolutely runs away from her 400 meter semi final field and breaks 50. She’s just 28 but it seems like forever since her breathtaking anchor leg in 2018.

Most hilarious conversation I’ll hear during these Trials:

Courtney Wayment (steeple star) trying to convince Trevor Bassitt (400 hurdle star) that he’d do well in a one mile steeplechase (an event idea floated by World Athletics). Trevor was having none of it.

Hardest race in track & field:

Undeniably the decathlon 1500. Imagine being required to compete all out in various events for two days…and then run a 1500. Oh yeah, you need to be big, muscle-bound and have sprinter speed in order to enter.

New “rule”?:

Any jumper who coaxes the crowd into pre-jump rhythmic clapping is not allowed to foul (just kidding).

Day 1: Quincy Wilson’s Speed, ZAP Pushes the 10k, and CrannyNation

Within 10 minutes of settling into our awesome (shaded!) seats we were treated to a World Record…by a 16 year old. Quincy Wilson drops a 44.6! Yeah he ran awfully hard for a first round race but I’m not sure the normal recovery rules apply to teenage legs. I can’t wait to see him do it again…and again.

A packed night that fully fed this track & field fan’s appetite ended with an epic final mile in the 10K. Kudos to two ZAP Endurance athletes (Andrew Colley & Ryan Ford) who fearlessly stuck their nose into the lead group of the race. Andrew actually broke the race open with three laps to go. The highlight though was Nico Young and Drew Hunter digging as deep as a human can dig in a battle for third. Yeah, I know that Drew wasn’t getting on the Olympic team for the 10k even if he beat Nico, but they both battled as if their life depended on it.

One more observation for today. Our group just happened to be sitting near Elise Cranny’s family and friends. To most fans it looked like just a routine, expected (and ridiculously easy) first round win for Elise. For the people wearing #CrannyNation shirts it was a meaningful moment to celebrate someone they love.