Olympic champion Allyson Felix fails to make USA team for Rio Games
Last Updated: 11/07/16 7:34am
Olympic champion Allyson Felix has failed to make the USA team for Rio in her favourite event, the 200 meters, as her dreams for a rare sprint double ended at the American trials.
A late lean by the world 400 meters champion was not enough for Felix as she missed qualifying for Rio by one-hundredth of a second by finishing fourth in 22.54 seconds.
World champion Tori Bowie gained the victory in the 200 in 22.25 seconds with collegian Deajah Stevens (22.30) and a lunging Jenna Prandini (22.53) edging Felix.
Only the top three finishers in each event at the cut-throat trials earned qualification for the Olympics.
"I gave it all I had but it just wasn't there today," said Felix, who two months ago could not even walk because of a sprained ankle.
But it was the lack of conditioning, not the ankle, that slowed her on Sunday.
"The speed just wasn't there," said Felix, who had not run a 200 meters this year until the trials, where she won the 400 metres earlier in the 10-day competition.
Bowie, who watched the 2012 Olympics from home on television, will be going to Rio though.
"It's like a dream come true, coming to the Olympic trails and leaving being the champion," Bowie said.
The concluding day of the American trials also produced the fastest 400 meters hurdles in the world this year, a run of 52.88 seconds by Dalilah Muhammad, and an upset in the men's race as 35-year-old Kerron Clement won in 48.50 seconds to make his third Olympic team.
The third place finisher in the women's race, 16-year-old Sydney McLaughlin, became the youngest athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics in the 400 meters hurdles.
Her time of 54.15 seconds was a world junior record.
"I can't believe this is happening right now," McLaughlin said. "My mind was on finishing the race and eating a cheeseburger.
"Just hearing the word Olympics was a dream in the back of my mind."
Johnny Dutch was not as fortunate. The year's fastest men's 400 meters hurdler faded to fifth in the closing stretchg to miss clinching a place in the USA team.
Collegian Byron Robinson claimed second (48.79) behind Clement and Olympic silver medallist Michael Tinsley took the third spot (48.82)
Olympic champion Jenn Suhr won her 10th national pole vault with a clearance of 4.80 meters with Sandi Morris the runner-up at 4.75 event.
