London Olympic Track and Field Coverage

(All photos courtesy of Kirby Lee, imageofsport.com)

Day Ten Highlights

• On the final day of competition Meb Keflezighi backed up his Athens 2004 silver medal in the marathon by placing 4th in an impressive showing, moving from 17th at halfway to 4th as he ran down the finishing straight to the finish, with a time of 2:11:06.  Stephen Kiprotich won the gold medal, a first for Uganda with a time of 2:08:01.  

Day Nine Highlights

• The USA women won the 4x400m relay with a blazing time of 3:16.87.  Deedee Trotter led off with a split of 50.5, Allyson Felix was next with a blazing 48.9, Francena McCorory was 3rd in 49.39 and Sanya Richards-Ross brought the gold home with a split of 49.02.
• The USA men won the silver medal in the 4x100m relay with a world-record tying time of 37.04.  Problem was Bolt and Jamaica won the gold with a new world record time of 36.84!
• Brigetta Barrett won the silver medal in the women's high jump with a leap of 2.03 meters.  Chaunte Lowe was 6th with a mark of 1.97 meters.
• Mo Farah of Great Britain won the 5000m run with a time of 13:41.66 to complete the 10k/5k double.  Bernard Lagat kicked well for 4th in 13:42.99 and Galen Rupp was 7th in 13:45.04.  Lopez Lomong was 10th in 13:48.19.  The race was pretty much a jog for 4200m and then an 800m kick.
• In the women's 800m run Alysia Montano led through 400 in 56.31 but faded to 5th in a solid time of 1:57.93.

Day Eight Highlights

• The USA women set a world record in the 4x100m relay, blazing around the track with a stunning time of 40.82!!  Running for the USA were Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter.
• The USA men ran a great race and were just edged out of gold to earn the silver in 2:57.05.  Bahamas got the gold with a time of 3:56.72.
• Shannon Rowbury was 6th in the 1500m run with a time of 4:11.26.
• Molly Huddle finished 11th in the 5000m in 15:20.29 and Julie Culley was 14th in 15:28.22 as both had to run very fast just to make the final!

Day Seven Highlights

• Christian Taylor won the triple jump on his 4th attempts with a mark of 17.81 meters to overtake countryman Will Claye, who got silver with a mark of 17.62.
• Usain Bolt led a Jamaican medal sweep in the 200m dash with a swift 19.32 clocking for the gold.  Yohan Blake was 2nd in 19.44 and Warren Weir was 3rd in 19.84.  American Wallace Spearmon ran solid for 4th with a time of 19.90. 
• The USA men ran an unbelievable time in the 4x400m relay heats, running 2:58.87 to finish in the same time as the Bahamas.  More impressively was how their lead-off man ran.  Manteo Mitchell felt his leg snap midway through the race and pushed through the pain to get the baton around the track and split 45 seconds! Confirmed after the race was a broken fibula.  Truly an amazing effort!!
• In the men's 800m run David Rudisha of Kenya roared out from the gate and torched splits of 49.28 and 1:14.30 on his way to a World Record clocking of 1:40.91!! The first man ever under 1:40!  Duane Solomon hung tough for 4th with a PR of 1:42.82 and Nick Symmonds was 5th, also with a PR in 1:42.95.  
• In the women's 4x100m relay heats the USA won their heat with a fast 41.64 and kept the stick in the hands.
• Ashton Eaton earned gold in the decathlon with a point total of 8869, becoming the first University of Oregon athlete to earn gold since Mac Wilkins won the discus at the 1972 games.  Trey Hardee won silver with 8671 points.  

Day Six Highlights

Allyson Felix and Carmelita celebrate Gold and Bronze in the Women's 200m.

Aries Merritt powers over the hurdles on his way to 110H Gold!

Brittney Reese and Janay DeLoach were Golden and Bronze in the Women's Long Jump.

Carmelita Jeter and Jason Richardson share a moment after Bronze in the 200m and Silver in the 110H.

• Allyson Felix made good on her talents after three attempts, finally snagging Olympic gold in the 200m, a title that has been hard fought for her.  Felix won with a swift clocking of 21.88 over Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who won the silver in 22.09 seconds.  Carmelita Jeter won the bronze medal with a time of 22.14, adding to her earlier gold in the 100m dash.  Sanya Richards-Ross finished 5th in 22.39, but won Olympic gold earlier in the 400m dash.
• Aries Merritt made his Olympic dream come true, taking the 110H with a time of 12.92, a personal best clocking.  Jason Richardson ran incredibly well also and took home the silver medal with a time of 13.04.  
• Americans were equally successful in the women's long jump with Brittney Reese winning the gold with a leap of 7.12 meters.  Janay DeLoach nabbed the bronze medal with a mark of 6.89 meters.  
• Lashinda Demus won the silver medal in the women's 400H with a time of 52.77.  Natayla Antyukh of Russia won gold in 52.70.  Two other Americans made the final as Georganne Moline was 5th in 53.92 and T'erea Brown was 6th in 55.07.
• In the men's 5000m heats Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp qualified with ease out of heat 2 with Lagat finishing 4th in 13:15.45 and Rupp 6th in 13:17.56.  In heat 1 Lopez Lamong qualified by finishing 4th in 13:26.16.
• In the women's 1500m semifinals Morgan Uceny qualified for the final with a time of 4:05.34 to finish 3rd in her heat.  Shannon Rowbury is also through to the final with a time of 4:05.47 to finish 5th in her heat.  Defending world champ Jennifer Simpson finished a disappointing 12th in her heat and did not qualify for the final.

Day Five Highlights

Leo Manzano celebrates as he nabs silver in the 1500m!

Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells celebrate a Silver, Bronze finish in the 100H!

• Leo Manzano rolled to a thrilling finish and capped it with a silver medal in the 1500m run with a time of 3:34.79.  Matthew Centrowitz missed bronze by the narrowest of margins in an impressive 4th place showing in 3:35.17.  Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco was 3rd in 3:35.13.  Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria won the gold in 3:34.08.
• Erik Kynard won the silver medal in the men's high jump with a leap of 2.33 meters.  Ivan Ukhov of Russia won the gold medal with a leap of 2.38 meters. 
• In the women's 100m hurdles Dawn Harper won the silver medal with a time of 12.37 and Kellie Wells won the bronze with a time of 12.48.  LoLo Jones secured 4th place with a time of 12.58.  An impressive showing for the American women.  Sally Pearson of Australia won gold in 12.35.
• In the 800m semis Duane Solomon is through to the final with a time of 1:44.93 for 3rd in his heat.  Nick Symmonds is also through, getting 3rd in his heat with a time of 1:44.87.  Both will be looking to medal in the final.
• In the 200m semis Allyson Felix is safely through, winning her heat in 22.31.  Sanya Richards-Ross is also through after she won her heat in 22.30 and Carmelita Jeter was 2nd in her heat in 22.39 to also make the final.
• In the women's 5000m heats Julie Culley was 5th in heat 1 and made the final with a time of 15:05.38.  Molly Huddle was 5th in heat 2 and made the final with a time of 15:02.26.  Kim Conley was 12th in heat 2 in 15:14.48 and did not make the final.
• In 200m qualifying all three American men are through.  Wallace Spearmon is through with a time of 20.47, Maurice Mitchell with a time of 20.54 and Isiah Young with a time of 20.55.
• In the 110 Hurdles heats Aries Merritt won his heat in 13.07, Jason Richardson was first in his heat in 13.33 and Jeff Porter was 3rd in his heat in 13.53.  All three are through to the semis.
• In the triple jump qualification Christian Taylor won group B in 17.21 meters and Will Claye was 4th in group A in 16.87 meters.  Both are through to the final.
• Jenay DeLoach won her group in the long jump to move on to the final with a leap of 6.81.  Brittney Reese is also in the final after finishing 6th in group A with a mark of 6.57 meters. 

Day Four Highlights

Jenn Suhr vaults her way to gold!

Suhr is all smiles after winning pole vault gold!

• Jennifer Suhr won gold in a thrilling pole vault competition with Cuba's Yarisly Silva as both cleared 4.75 meters!
• Michael Tinsley ran his fastest ever on the way to silver in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 47.91.  Dominican Republic's Felix Sanchez won the gold with a time of 47.63.  Angelo Taylor finished 5th in 48.25 and Kerron Clement was 8th in 49.15.
• No Americans made the final but Grenada's Kirani James, just 19 years young, blazed to 400m gold and glory with a time of 43.94.
• Emma Coburn finished 9th in the 3000 Steeplechase with a time of 9:23.54.  Russia's Yuliya Zaripova won the gold with a time of 9:06.72.
• In the 100m Hurdles LoLo Jones won her heat to advance to the semis with a time of 12.68.  Kellie Wells also won her heat to advance with a time of 12.69 and Dawn Harper was 2nd in her heat to advance with a time of 12.75.
• Michelle Carter qualified for the final in the Shot Put with a toss of 18.63 meters to finish 4th in her group.
• In the 1500m heats Shannon Rowbury advanced by finishing 7th in her heat in 4:06.03.  Morgan Uceny finished 2nd in her heat with a time of 4:06.87 to advance and Jennifer Simpson was 6th in her heat to advance with a time of 4:13.81.

Day Three Highlights

Sanya Richards-Ross won gold over 400 meters!

Evan Jager and Donn Cabral lead the Steeple and finish 6th, 8th in first Oly appearances!

Goucher and Flanagan were 11th and 10th respectively in the women's marathon.

• Sanya Richards-Ross won the gold medal over 400m that eluded her in Beijing with a strong closing kick in 49.55.  Deedee Trotter won the bronze in 49.72.  Francena McCorory was 7th in 50.33.
• Usain Bolt won the Men's 100m dash in an Olympic Record of 9.63 but the US strength was evident in the depth.  Justin Gatlin has made his successful return to the world stage with a brtonze medal finish in 9.79.  Tyson Gay was 4th in 9.80 and Ryan Bailey was 5th in 9.88.
• Evan Jager finished an impressive 6th in the 3k Steeplechase with a time of 8:23.87 in his first Olympic experience.  Likewise, Donn Cabral was 8th in 8:25.91.  Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya won going away with a massive sprint to stop the clock with gold in 8:18.56.  
• In the Men's hammer throw competition Kibwe Johnson finished 9th with a throw of 74.95 meters.  Krisztian Pars of Hungary won the gold medal with a toss of 80.59 meters.
• In 1500m Men's qualifying Matthew Centrowitz had to run fast but made the final with a 5th place finish in 3:34.90.  Leo Manzano was 4th in his heat with a time of 3:42.94 and also made the final.  Andrew Wheating struggled to a 9th place finish in 3:44.88 and did not qualify.
• In the women's marathon Shalane Flanagan finished 10th in 2:25:51 while Kara Goucher was 11th in 2:26:07.  Tiki Gelana from Ethiopia earned the gold with an Olympic Record clocking of 2:23:07.

Day Two Highlights

Jeter took home the silver in the 100m Olympic final.

• Galen Rupp ran an absolutley historic race in winning the silver medal over 10,000m with a fierce kick in 27:30.90 as teammate Mo Farah won the gold medal in 27:30.42.  Rupp's medal was the first for an American since Billy Mills won the Olympic 10k in Mexico back in 1964. 
• Will Claye won the bronze medal in the  long jump with a leap of 8.12 meters.  Great Britian's Greg Rutherford won the gold with a jump of 8.31 meters.
• Carmelita Jeter won the silver medal in the 100m dash with a time of 10.78, powering through the final strides to secure the spot.  Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica won the gold with a time of 10.75.
• Ine the 100m dash heats 
• All three Americans are through to the final in the women's 400m dash with Deedee Trotter clocking a 4987, Sanya Richards-Ross clocking 50.07 and Francena McCorory clocking 50.15.
• Emma Coburn and Bridget Franek qualified for the final of the 3000m steeplechase.  Coburn was 3rd in her heat in 9:27.51 while Franek was 5th in 9:29.86.

Day One Highlights

Amy Hastings gave it her best shot, finishing 11th in the final.

• In the 400m prelims Americans Sanya Richards-Ross, Deedee Trotter and Francena McCorory are all through, winning their respective heats in 51.78, 50.87 and 50.78.
• In the 3000m Steeplechase Evan Jager and Donn Cabral are through running respective times of 8:16.61 for 2nd and 8:21.46 for 4th.
• In the women's 100m dash heats Carmelita Jeter is through with a time of 10.83, Allyson Felix is through in 11.01 and Tianna Madison is through in 10.97.
• In the men's 1500m run all three are through with Matthew Centrowitz 5th in his heat in 3:41.39, Leo Manzano 6th in his heat in 3:37.00 and Andrew Wheating 7th in his heat in 3:40.92.
• In the women's 10000m final Amy Hastings was 11th in 31:10.69, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom was 12th in 31:12.68 and Lisa Uhl was 13th in 31:12.80.  Tirunesh Dibaba from Ethiopia won the gold medal with a time of 30:20.75.
• In the men's shot put Reese Hoffa won the bronze medal with a toss of 21.23 meters.  Christian Cantwell was 4th in 21.19 while Ryan Whiting finished 9th with 20.64 meters.
• In the women's discus qualifications Stephanie Brown Trafton was the lone American through with a throw of 64.89 meters, finishing 3rd in her group.
• In men's 400m Hurdles qualifying all three Americans are through as Michael Tinsley wins his heat in 4913, Angelo Taylor wins his in 49.29 and Kerron Clement was 2nd in his in 48.48.