Day 8 of the 2024 Track and Field Olympic Trials wrapped up Friday evening, headlined by the 200 meter semifinals and the 110 meter men's hurdles final.
The top three competitors in the 110-meter hurdles all nailed sub-13 second finishes. Three-time world champion and Tokyo silver medalist Grant Holloway finished first with a 12.86 -- only 0.6 seconds shy of the world record set by Aries Merritt at the 2012 Diamond League meet in Belgium. Freddie Crittenden, who won silver at the 2019 Pan American Games, finished second with a time of 12.93 and is heading to his first Olympic Games. Rounding out the team is Daniel Roberts, the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist, who ran a personal best 12.96 to qualify for his second Olympics.
Holloway reflected on what it meant to be heading back to the Olympics, saying, "Two-time Olympian, it just speaks for itself."
"Obviously, [the Tokyo Olympics in] 2021 was just a bitter end," he continued. "So, my main goal was to come out here and make the team, first of all. Now, [in] four, five weeks, be ready to do it again."
Roberts, who has made every team he's tried out for since 2019, said making it back to the Olympics "means the world."
"To be able to come back here and do it a second time, not everybody can say that," he added.
Richardson, Lyles advance to 200m finals
Star sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who already qualified for Paris in the 100-meter finals, is now closer to adding the 200m to her event list. She left her semifinal competition in the dust with a personal best of 21.91 on Friday. Tamari Davis, the 2023 world champion, also logged her personal best in the 200m semis with a time of 22.10, and Tokyo silver medalist Gabby Thomas easily made the cut with a top time of 21.78. The other women's sprinters who advanced to the final are Abby Steiner (22.03), McKenzie Long (22.01), Brittany Brown (22.08), Tamara Clark (22.12), Jenna Pradini (22.26) and Jadyn Mays (22.33).
Following Richardson's stellar semifinal performance, she told NBC that it's proof of the work she and her team put in.
"Like I said yesterday, [it's all about] executing," Richardson said. "Every single time I step onto the track, there's something to improve on, so I'm super excited that I was able to equal my PR. I'm just looking forward to [the finals], and just busting it wide open."
When asked about the possibility of heading to Paris in two events, Richardson said it would show "divine timing is everything."
"What is meant to happen is going to happen, and nothing will stop it," she continued. "I would feel like it's my responsibility to the USA to go to Paris and bring back those medals."
The men's semifinals featured excellent performances from Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman, who advanced with respective sub-20 times of 19.60 and 19.89. Among others joining them Saturday will be 2022 world championships bronze medalist Eeriyon Knighton (19.93), Tokyo silver medalist Kenny Bednarek (19.96), 2023 SEC outdoor national champion Robert Gregory (19.98) and NCAA outdoor champion Courtney Lindsey (20.05). Kyree King (20.25), Jeremiah Curry (20.31) and Jamarion Stubbs (20.31) round out the men's 200m finalists.
Lyles, who is also already heading to Paris in the 100m, noted that the 200m semis felt "real easy."
"I wasn't really even trying and I shut down pretty hard at the end, too," he said.
The 200m finals is scheduled for Saturday, on NBC and streaming on Peacock, with the women's final beginning at 8:27 p.m. ET and the men's final starting at 9:49 p.m. ET.
