10pm Update
That's it for day 1. The only final that determined spots on the Olympic roster came in the women's 10,000 meters. Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher and Amy Begley all earned spots. Goucher lives and trains in Oregon with her husband Adam, who advanced to the finals of the 5000 meters tonight.
Tomorrow, former Coug Diana Pickler will try to punch her ticket to Beijing in the last events of heptathlon. Pickler is second after the first day. The top three finishers make the team. Tomorrow also features the finals of men's shot put and the women's 100 meters.
9:30pm Update
Men's 5000 Meter Semis:
Bernard Lagat (WSU) finished third in his heat and easily advanced to Monday's final. Lagat won medals at 1500 meters in Sydney and Athens while a student at WSU. He ran for his native Kenya in those Olympics. He's now a US citizen and this is Lagat's first American Olympic trials. He hopes to qualify for Beijing in both the 5000 and the 1500. Lagat won both events at the world championships in Osaka, Japan last summer.
Women's Discus:
Aretha Thurmond (Renton & UW) easily qualified for the discus final on Sunday. She made one throw of 201' 1", which is all she needed to for a third place finish in qualifying. Thurmond is an Olympic veteran, back this year with a new last name and a new baby. Thurmond competed in Athens as Aretha Hill. Between Olympics, she married UW coach Reedus Thurmond, who's also trying to make it to Beijing in discus. Thurmond is a new mom and is just now rounding back into shape.
Men's Long Jump:
Norris Frederick (UW and Roosevelt HS) came up just short of qualifying for the finals. His best jump was 25' 2". It took 25" 6.75" to advance. Frederick will have a second shot at making the team in the high jump.
8pm Update
World champion Brad Walker (UW, Mountlake Terrace) is the top qualifier for Sunday's pole vault final. Walker jumped 18' 4.5" in today's qualifying round. All the other qualifiers jumped 18' 0.5".
Walker set a new American record at the same track in Eugene earlier this month. he says, "The crowd is great. I jumped an American record here a couple weeks ago, so I think they remember that. The fans are very supportive."
6:20pm Update
Heptathlon is done for the day and Diana Pickler is back in second place overall. The last event of the day was the 200 meter dash. Hyleas Fountain won that event, too, her third of four wins today. Pickler finished third in the 200, which put her back into second overall. She's 239 points behind Fountain with three events to go tomorrow. Afterwards, she said, "For tomorrow, I just need to focus on the long jump and stay strong. I don't have any concerns, and am ready for all of the things tomorrow." In track and field, the top three finishers in each event qualify for the Olympic team.
Diana's sister Julie moved up to 11th place with a strong time in the 200.
Swimming Update
The Associated Press reports the Qwest Center in Omaha, NE - where the Olympic swimming trials begin on Sunday - had to be evacuated this afternoon. Michael Phelps and other swimmers practicing for the trials were herded into the hallways as water poured into the building and onto the competition pool deck. AP says Phelps and his teammates were walking from their hotel to the pool when the tornado sirens sounded.
6pm Update
The heptathlon shot put just wrapped up. Diana Pickler finished 15th in the event and slipped into third place overall - 161 points away from the lead and two points from second place.
1. Hyleas Fountain 2,941 points
2. Jaquelyn Johnson 2,782
3. Diana Pickler 2,780
15. Julie Pickler 2,457
5pm Update
The Olympic track and field trials got underway this afternoon in Eugene, Oregon. The swimming trials start on Sunday in Omaha, Nebraska. For the next ten days, dozens of athletes from this area will be competing for spots on the Olympic roster in Beijing. And we'll be posting updates as the trials unfold.
Heptathon is the first track event to get underway. That's seven events over two days. Diana and Julie Pickler, twin sisters who competed for WSU, are both trying to make the Olympic team. Diana sits second overall after the first two events. She finished fourth in the 100 meter hurdles. Georgia grad Hyleas Fountain won the hurdles, setting a new American record for the event. Fountain is the odds-on favorite to win the trials. But, Pickler came back to claim the high jump and is now just 35 points behind Fountain. Her sister Julie is much further back at this point. The women have two more events this evening - the shot put and 200 meter run. Tomorrow features the long jump and javelin with the 800 meters as the final event.
Also coming up tonight - UW alum Brad Walker takes his preliminary jumps in pole vault, Norris Frederick (Roosevelt HS and UW) hits the pit in the long jump, Renton's Aretha Thurmond starts discus competition, and former Coug Bernard Lagat runs in the 5000 meters.
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