On Your Marks: Olympic Trials Being in Track and Swimming
Selection for teams in two of America's best Olympic sports gets underway this weekend. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials in track and field begin Friday in Eugene, Oregon, with the top three finishers in each event qualifying for the squad. Swimming starts Sunday in Omaha, Nebraska. The top two in each event are bound for Beijing.
Track gets underway Friday. The only final is the women's 10,000-meter run, which should be a match race between
Shalane Flanagan, who set an American record in May, and Kara Goucher, the bronze medalist at the 2007 world championships. The first two rounds of the women's 100-meter dash are Friday, with the semifinals and finals on Saturday. The field is extremely competitive, including Torri Edwards and
Lauryn Williams, the 2003 and 2005 world champions, respectively;
Allyson Felix, two-time world champion in the 200; Angela Williams, the world indoor champion at 60 meters; and up-and-comers
Marshevet Hooker and Muna Lee, who have showed great form this season.
In swimming,
Michael Phelps will be the star of the show. He's entered in
nine events, which should set him up for a run at matching or surpassing
Mark Spitz' record of seven Olympic gold medals, set back in 1972. (Phelps won six golds and two bronzes four years ago at the Athens Games.) His first two events, the 400-meter individual medley and 400 freestyle, are Sunday.
UPDATE: Phelps has decided
not to swim the 400 free, bringing his schedule down to eight events. He could scratch from others, but with relay events should have ample chance to go after Spitz' record in Beijing.
The TV schedule for track is:
Friday, June 27, midnight/ET, USA
Saturday, June 28, 8 pm/ET, NBC
Sunday, June 29, 7 pm/ET, NBC
Monday, June 30, 11 pm/ET, USA
Thursday, July 3, 11 pm/ET, USA
Friday, July 4, 11 pm/ET, USA
Saturday, July 5, 5 pm/ET, NBC
Sunday, July 6, 7 pm/ET, NBC (combined with swimming trials)
And the TV schedule for swimming is:
Sunday, June 29, 8 pm/ET, NBC
Monday, June 30, 8 pm/ET, USA
Tuesday, July 1, 8 pm/ET, USA
Wednesday, July 2, 8 pm/ET, USA
Thursday, July 3, 8 pm/ET, USA
Friday, July 4, 8 pm/ET, NBC
Saturday, July 5, 8 pm/ET, NBC
Sunday, July 6, 7 pm/ET, NBC (combined with track & field trials)
