Razorback Sprints into Olympic Trials Final with Top Semifinal Time

Kaylyn Brown dropped over a second off prelim time to win semifinal heat, gets closer to Olympics

Kaylyn Brown finished third in the heats of the 400m dash during the US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials. She was the top qualifier in the semifinals. / Craig Strobeck-USA TODAY Sports

EUGENE, Ore. — As nightfall fell on day two of the Track and Field Olympic Trials, the strong contingent of Arkansas 400-meter superstars took the spotlight.

In the first heat, Kaylyn Brown, running in the same heat as the US indoor champion Alexis Holmes, won her heat with a time of 49.71 seconds and recorded the best semi-final time of all the semifinalists. She dropped nearly a second and a half from her prelim time of 51.09. Razorback alum Paris Peoples, also running in the heat, ran a 52.68 and did not advance.

Alexis Holmes has to rely on time in the Women's 400 as Kaylyn Brown and Aaliyah Butler finish in front!#TrackFieldTrials24 | #RoadToParis2024 | #JourneyToGold | @USATF | @TeamUSATracker pic.twitter.com/YHrLsxy0Hl

— Depressed New York Fan (@JudgeEnjoyer) June 23, 2024

Teammates in the heroic 1-2-3-4 finish at the NCAA Championships, Rosey Effiong looked to follow Brown's heroics, but came up short with a 50.92, finishing fourth in her heat.

The night got off to a positive start in the field events as two Razorbacks, one current and one former, both made the final of their respective events. Jarrion Lawson, a professional long jumper since graduating in 2016, recorded a jump of 7.96 meters on his third and final jump to comfortably within the Top 12 to advance to the finals. He finished seventh out of a field of 24.

Rachel Glenn, who broke the Arkansas outdoor record in the high jump earlier this year with a jump of 1.90 meters, cleared 1.83 meters on her second attempt to advance to the finals.

Starting the night on the track for the Hogs, Jada Baylark did not advance out of the semifinals of the 100 meters, finishing in 11.29 seconds and crossing the line sixth in her heat.

Jordan West finished 11th in the shot put final with a throw of 19.71 meters. Daniel Spejcher finished the decathlon with 7.654 points in 11th place, 971 points behind the leader.

Coverage of day three of the Olympic Trials starts at 12 p.m. Sunday and will be streamed live on Peacock as Team USA slowly takes shape. Brown will have a chance to punch her ticket to Paris by finishing in the top three of the 400-meter final. That race will take place at 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC.

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