Brooks Beasts' Nia Akins wins US Olympic Trials 800 meter crown...
EUGENE--In the final race of day four of the US Olympic Track & Field Trials, Nia Akins (Paul Merca photo) of Seattle's Brooks Beasts maintained her composure in a dramatic women's 800 meter final at Hayward Field to win her second straight national title, and secure a spot on the US Olympic team going to Paris.
Less than 200 meters into the race, defending Olympic champion Athing Mu and Stanford's Juliette Whittaker bumped into each other, causing Mu to stumble and fall.
As they crossed the line with one lap to go, frontrunner Michaela Rose of LSU took to the front, with Kristie Schoffield and Akins tucked behind.
Heading up the backstretch, Akins opened up and took the lead from Rose near the 600 meter mark, and left the rest of the field without a challenge, setting a personal best of 1:57.36.
Allie Wilson and Whittaker all made late charges to catch the fading Rose, with Wilson finishing second in a season best 1:58.32, while Whittaker ran a personal best of 1:58.45 to grab the final Olympic spot.
Wilson and Whittaker both ducked under the Olympic standard of 1:59.30, leaving no doubt that all three punched their tickets to Paris.
There was a bit of deja vu for Akins, who fell in the 2021 Olympic Trials 800 finals race and finished last.
When asked about whether or not she was surprised that no one challenged her over the last 200 meters, the Penn grad and San Diego native, who was still in a state of shock after her victory said, "Honestly, I wasn't thinking. I felt it in my spirit to just go for it. I've never moved there before, and I'm thinking 'I hope this works'".
She said that the idea of winning the whole thing hasn't quite settled in.
"I'm super proud of finishing top three and moving on to Paris," Akins said
"The Trials are so difficult. We just practice what the Olympics is going to be," referring to the US system of running three rounds to survive and advance.
Here is video of the women's 800 meter final, courtesy of NBC Sports (may be geoblocked outside the USA):
In the men's 1500, Washington's Nathan Green, Henry Wynne of the Brooks Beasts (Paul Merca photo), and UW alum Joe Waskom finished fifth, sixth, and seventh, with all three setting personal bests.
Unlike many championship type races with no designated pacesetter to help the field, the race was fast from the get-go, with Notre Dame alum Yared Nuguse taking the lead, going through 400 meters in 56.32.
Green, Wynne, and Waskom were all towards the back through the 400 mark before Green and Wynne started working their way, while Waskom stayed around tenth place.
The trio were stayed relatively in the same position entering the bell when the real racing began.
Green saw an opening and tried to make a charge, but at the same time, a group of four, led by eventual winner Cole Hocker, put the accelerator down and began pulling away from Nuguse.
Hocker won in a meet record time of 3:30.59, with Nuguse second in 3:30.86, and Hobbs Kessler, the reigning world road mile champion, third in 3:31.53.
For Green in fifth at 3:32.20, that broke the school record he set two days earlier, and is the number seven time on the NCAA all-dates list which includes marks run by a collegiate at any point in the calendar year. The time is significantly faster than the official in-season collegiate record of 3:33.74.
Here is video of the men's 1500 meter final, courtesy of NBC Sports (may be geoblocked outside the USA):
Emerald Ridge HS sensation JaiCieonna Gero-Holt finished sixth in the women's high jump, clearing 6-2 (1.88m), a centimeter short of her personal best.
In a minor upset, Charity Hufnagel of Kentucky won the event with a clearance of 6-4.25 (1.94m).
Allie Buchalski of the Brooks Beasts finished sixth in the finals of the women's 5000, running 15:12.87, while Lake Stevens HS grad Taylor Roe, who signed a pro deal with Puma and the North Carolina based Puma Elite Running team, finished eighth in 15:15.37.
In qualifying action, Pasco native Marisa Howard (9:26.38), Woodinville's Olivia Markezich (9:26.67), Seattle resident Allie Ostrander (9:29.32), former Seattle Pacific All-American Kaylee Mitchell (9:29.54), and Washington alum Kayley DeLay of the Brooks Beasts (9:31.04) all advanced to Thursday's final in the 3000 steeplechase.
Spokane native Katie Thronson ran 10:10.40 and did not advance.
In the men's 110 hurdles, Eastern Washington alum Parker Bowden was short of advancing to the semifinals, running 13.63 in the first round.
In finals completed Monday, Anna Hall won the heptathlon with a final score of 6614 points.
Other winners included Jeremiah Davis of Florida State in the men's long jump (26-11/8.20m); and Quincy Hall in the men's 400 in 44.17.
Tuesday and Wednesday are rest days at the Olympic Trials, with action resuming on Thursday.
NOTE: USA Track & Field contributed to this report.
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