Schedule for 2012 US Olympic Team Trials-Track and Field released...

EUGENE, Oregon--The TrackTown12 Local Organizing Committee, in conjunction with the United States Olympic Committee and USA Track & Field on Wednesday, October 12, 2011, announced the release of the competition schedule for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track and Field that will take place June 21 to July 1st in Eugene.

The first official U.S. Olympic Trials event begins on the evening of Thursday, June 21, with a special edition of the men’s and women’s hammer throw at the Nike Campus in Beaverton, where former Ft. Lewis resident Michael Mai is expected to contend for a spot in London.

The special location for the hammer throw will be a new and exciting phenomenon in U.S.-based competition, and is a practice which started with much success at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where the shot put competition was held on the original Olympic grounds in Olympia, Greece.

“We consider the Olympic Trials to be one of the three greatest track and field meets on the planet, after only the Olympic Games themselves and the World Championships,” said USATF Interim CEO Mike McNees. “All of our events are showcased, with athletes trying for that coveted Olympic Team roster spot."

On Friday, June 22, the first full day of action kicks off at the University of Oregon’s Historic Hayward Field with Ashton Eaton, Trey Hardee (left/photo by Paul Merca) and Bryan Clay in the men’s decathlon, and concludes with the men’s and women’s 10,000 meters. The first weekend of competition is a busy one as finals in the men’s and women’s 100 and 400 meters, men’s long jump, women’s pole vault and women’s discus are contested.

Two rest days – June 26 and June 27 – are sandwiched in between the two four-day periods of track and field competition. Special community events, including an all-comers meet hosted by the Oregon Track Club, will give fans a chance to compete at Hayward Field’s hallowed grounds on the non-competition days.

Here is video of the press conference announcing the schedule, courtesy of the TrackTown12 LOC.



The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field will be broadcast on NBC and its affiliates. Specific event timetables will be announced early in 2012. For the full competition schedule and athlete information, please click this link.

NOTE:  USA Track & Field and the TrackTown12 LOC contributed to this report.

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