Track & field starts Friday at the Olympics!
RIO DE JANEIRO—The track and field portion of the Olympics gets started Friday morning at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange at 5:30 am Seattle time (9:30 am in Rio) with the men’s discus qualifying, while the women’s heptathlon 100 hurdles will be the first running event contested on the blue oval.
There is a Washington connection in the heptathlon, as Walla Walla HS graduate Josh Priester is the personal coach of US Olympic Trials heptathlon champion Barbara Nwaba (left/photo by Paul Merca). You can read the Tri-City Herald’s writeup on him here.
In a bit of an unusual twist to the track & field competition, the women’s 10000 finals, featuring Americans Molly Huddle, Portland’s Emily Infeld, and Marielle Hall will be held at 11:10 am (7:10 am in Seattle), with at least one final contested in each day of track and field that has both a morning and afternoon session.
Reigning Olympic Trials champion Devon Allen, who grew up in the Puget Sound area before moving to Arizona, spoke to members of the media at a USA Track & Field press conference Thursday. You can read the highlights of the USATF press conference here.
No athletes with Washington ties will compete on Friday. University Place resident Andrea Geubelle gets things started for the Washington delegation Saturday morning at 5:40 am (9:40 am in Rio) in the women’s triple jump qualifying round.
In the United States, the networks of NBC (NBC, NBCSN and online at nbcolympics.com and the NBC Sports app) will provide broadcast and streaming coverage.
paulmerca.blogspot.com’s guide to Washington athletes competing in Rio is here.
Comments