Two Razorbacks Punch Spot to Olympics
EUGENE, Ore. — Less than a blink of an eye and you'll miss it. Miss the Olympic team that is.
As for Arkansas alum Chris Bailey, he held on just long enough to take the third and final Olympic qualifying spot. He crossed the finish line in 44.42 seconds, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Vernon Norwood to book his spot to his first Olympic games. Bailey will join Quincy Hall and Michael Norman in Paris.
By the time Bailey clinched his spot, the Paris games already had Razorback Red on it. The honor of first Hog to clinch her spot on Team USA was Rachel Glenn, who finished second in the high jump, clearing 1.94 meters.
Razorback football and basketball master of ceremonies Taliyah Brooks ran a 2:13:39 in the 800 meters, the final event of the women's heptathlon, to pick up 916 points to bring her total to 6,408. A personal best Brooks, she finished just 17 points ahead of Michelle Atherley in fourth.
Her most important moment came in the morning when she beat her personal best in the javelin by over two meters with a throw of 41.24 meters. She picked up a valuable 691 points to set her up to finish within the top three.
However, Brooks since fell short of the Olympic standard of 6,480, she has not officially qualified for Paris. She must wait until July 7 when the world rankings are finalized. Read more about the Olympic standard and the different qualification paths here.
Arkansas wasn't quite done in the field. Jerrion Lawson came up with a jump of 8.18 meters, on his sixth and final jump to take third and put himself with a shot to go to the Olympics. He also fell short of the Olympic standard of 8.27 meters and will now enter a waiting game along with Brooks.
Lauren Gregory also participated in the 5000 meter final and finished in 13th place with a time of 15:44.09.
On the final day of competition before a two-day intermission, a handful of Razorbacks got their Olympic Trial campaigns underway in various events. Hog alums Krissy Gear and Logan Jolly both ran in the heats of the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, both qualifying on time with runs of 9:30.92 and 9:33.91 respectively.
Eli Morris and Matthew Lewis-Banks both ran in the 110-meter hurdles. Morris ran a 13.59 and qualified for the semifinals. Lewis-Banks ran a 14.31 and did not advance.
The competition will now feature two off days before resuming action Thursday. Coverage starts at 6:30 on Peacock before switching over to NBC at 7 p.m.
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DANIEL SHI