* Roisin Willis, Jaylen Slade, Hobbs Kessler, and Paige Sommers are some of the high school athletes competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials
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The time has finally come.
After a year of waiting, the Olympic Trials will take place in Eugene, Oregon between June 18-June 27. Athletes who have hit the Olympic Trials standard and finish in the top three in their respected events will grab a spot on the USA track and field team in Tokyo, Japan.
In the 100m and 400m finals, the top six athletes will be considered for the relay pool.
There have been a handful of high school athletes who declared and hit the standard to be able to compete and potentially make this prestigious team.
There are six athletes who have already hit the Olympic qualifying mark in their respective event and are scheduled to compete at the Olympic Trials:
| NAME | EVENT | QUALIFYING MARK | QUALIFYING STANDARD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800m | 2:00.78 | 2:02.50 | |
| 800m | 2:01.34 | 2:02.50 | |
| 800m | 2:02.44 | 2:02.50 | |
| 1,500m | 3:34.36 | 3:37.50 | |
| 200m | 20.20 | 20.24 | |
| 200m | 20.11 | 20.24 | |
| Tamari Davis | 100m | 11.15 | 11.15 |
| Tamari Davis | 200m | 22.64 | 22.80 |
The key for the trials is to survive and advance as athletes might be competing in multiple rounds.
Willis, Whittaker and Gorriaran will compete:
- First Round - June 24
- Semi-Finals - June 25
- Finals - June 27
The men's 200m will feature Slade and Knighton:
- First Round - June 25
- Semi-Finals - June 26
- Finals - June 27
Kessler will tackle the rounds of the 1,500m:
- First Round - June 24
- Semi-Finals - June 25
- Finals - June 27
Despite these athletes not hitting the Olympic standard yet, there are still a handful of athletes who were approved to compete and have a chance to make their first Olympic team.
Kamyren Garrett of Lawrence Central (IN) will be able to compete in the the high jump. He cleared 7-3 earlier this season. However, he would still need to clear 7-4 to be able to make the Olympic team while also finishing in the top three. He will have one qualifying round and then the finals. The qualifying round is June 25 and the finals are on the final day of competition.
Another athlete who has another opportunity to make this team is Paige Sommers of Westlake (CA). The national record holder set the bar high this season when she cleared 14-9 in the pole vault. She will be striving for 15-1 at the trials. Similar to Garrett, Sommers will potentially have two rounds of competition. The qualifying round for the women's pole vault will be June 24 while the finals are on June 26.
Slade will have a stacked week and a half of competition. He will face potentially six rounds ahead of him throughout the competition as he is competing in both the 100m and 200m.
He set a personal best of 10.09 in the straightaway race at the Pure Summer Invitational. Slade still needs to hit a 10.05 within the rounds at the trials to be considered for the team.
The trials for the 100m are:
- First Round - June 19
- Semi-Finals & Finals - June 20
Related Links:
- High Schoolers Qualified For the U.S. Olympic Trials
- 16 HS Athletes Would Have Been All-Americans At NCAAs