This is a series I began in Eugene during the Trials. It is an exercise for me, where I take in the major themes of each day to prep for Paris 2024. I hope that you like it. This is Day 7.
Fear and Loathing in Eugene, Day Seven teased fans about Team USA’s potential Larry Eder.
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The seventh day came on June 27 in Eugene, Oregon. After a two-day break, the fans were back, with about 12,000 fans (and
several thousand coaches, athletes, and officials) in the house that Phil and Penny built.
Women’s Discus
Valarie Allman competed as if she were the only athlete competing, winning by 6.1 meters! Her series was 67.19 meters, 68.09 meters, and fouls were 69.72 meters, 67.64 meters, and 70.73 meters. 70.73 meters was her farthest throw of the competition.
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Allman_Valarie-1h-Trials24.jpg)
Eugene, Oregon, USA
June 21-30, 2024, photo by Kevin Morris
Valarie changed her technique with Coach Zebulon Sion in 20192019, and it was an incredible change. Valarie Allman was the Olympic champion in 2021, winning medals in Eugene in 2022 and Budapest in 2023.
The battle is on for Paris 2024.
Valerie Allman is the finest women’s discus thrower in 2024, and she is, in my opinion, the odds-on favorite for the Olympic discus gold in Paris. However, there are some amazing competitors in the Women’s discus.
Men’s 110 hurdles, semi-finals
Grant Holloway is focused on making the Olympic team, and he showed it, running his second sub-13-second run of
the year. Both sub 13 second runs are the only ones in the world, in Eugene. Cordell Finch took second in 13.19, and Cameron
Murray, 13.27.
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Crew-Hurdles-Trials24.jpg)
Eugene, Oregon, USA
June 21-30, 2024, photo by Kevin Morris
Freddie Crittenden ran 13.05 for semi-final 2. Ja’Qualon Scott takes second in 13.23, and Trey Cunningham takes third.
Daniel Roberts wins semi-final 3 in 13.11, with Micheal Dickson in 13.19 for second and Devin Wilson for third in 13.23.
Grant Holloway has been focused on Paris since Tokyo 2021 when he did not win gold. While it has been challenging for Grant, it has been great for fans of the 110m hurdles and 60m hurdles indoors. Grant Holloway is the finest hurdler of his generation. Do not discount his hurdling. You are seeing the hardest working guy in the 110m hurdles.
Women’s 1,500 meters,
Cory McGee took the first heat in 4:15.75, leading six to the semi-finals. Elise Cranny, Nikki Hiltz, and Sage Hurta Klecker moved on. Elise Cranny had run the 5,000 meters, and Sage Hurta-Klecker had run the 800 meters.
In heat 2, NB’s Heather Maclean won in 4:07.31, with Sinclaire Johnson, Helen Schlachtenhaufen, Gracie Hyde, Christie Aragon, Addy Wiley, and Anna Gibson.
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Hiltz_McGee-HurtaKlecker-Trials24.jpg)
Eugene, Oregon, USA
June 21-30, 2024, photo by Kevin Morris
In heat 3, 5000m winner Elle St. Pierre ran the fastest heat in 4:06.41. Emily Mackay, Anna Camp-Bennett, Eli Donaghu, Dani Jones,
Lindsay Butler, Jenn Randall, Eleanor Fulton, Alexina Teúbas, and Angel Piccirillo moved on.
Women’s 200 meters
In the first round of the 200m, Sha’Carrie Richardson won heat 1 in 21.99, McKenzie Long won heat 2 in 22.49,
Brittany Brown won heat 3 in 22.29, and Gabby Thomas won heat 4 in 22.11. The first round was non-sensical as all
Thirty sprinters moved on!
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Thomas_Gabby-SF4-Trials24.jpg)
Eugene, Oregon, USA
June 21-30, 2024, photo by Kevin Morris
Women’s steeplechase
Emma Coburn and Courtney French are injured. It was clear from the beginning that a new generation of steeplechasers
would be making the team.
Krissy Gear, the 2023 champion, had a very rough race and left the race about midway. Krissy later noted on IG that she had to shut down the season,
and she was having a tough time in both the heats and the final.
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Krissy-Gear--669x1024.jpg)
Valeria Constien had just returned to competition after recovering from an injury last year in Doha. Anna Rodenfels led through the
First kilometer in 3:00.53. The race got exciting by 2k, led by Courtney Wayment in 6:08.23.
Then, it got interesting.
The final 1000m was run in the mid-2:50s.
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Olivia-Markezech--1024x697.jpg)
Courtney Wayment, Valerie Constien, Marisa Howard, Olivia Markezich, Kaylee Mitchell, and Gabbi Jennings were all there, but the medal
contenders, with Wayment, Constien, and Markezich as prime contenders.
On the final water jump, Olivia Markezich clipped her foot at the final step in the water jump, and she spent the rest of the
Race trying to fight back. Valerie Constien moved perfectly over the last barrier, running the last 1k in
2:54.70, going from third to first, running MR of 9:03.22 PB.
Courtney Wayment moved into second, running her last 1k in 2:58.27, running PB in 9:06.50.
Marissa Howard surprised many with her big PB of 9:07.14, running 2:58. 46.
Olivia Markezich, 2023 NCAA champion, had a terrible last 200m, but she fought on, also clipping the final barrier, falling, but
Holding on, dropping from medal contender to sixth in PB of 9:14.85. She ran a gutty race and never gave up.
![](https://www.runblogrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Womens-steeple--1024x688.jpg)
This race was Valerie Constien’s. She had lived through a hellish year recovering from surgery and wondered if she would ever make another professional steeple race. Valerie led the first nine athletes to PBs, completely rewriting the American steeple list.
The steeple is a relatively new event, introduced in 1992.
This writer recalls a story about our magazine, American Athletics. In 1992, we put Carla Borovick on the cover of the women’s steeple. I received a letter from a prominent University coach chastising me about placing a steepler on the cover, noting, “Next thing that we know, you will put a woman pole vaulter on the cover of American Athletics.”
How things change!
Complete results of the 2024 US Olympic Trials: https://results.usatf.org/2024trials/
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Author
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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