Today, we saw Elise Cranny win the women’s 5,000 meters make her first Olympic team alongside her training partner Karissa Schweizer. The men’s 800 meters saw a huge upset as 2019 world champion Donovan Brazier didn’t make the Olympic team. And Elle Purrier St. Pierre claimed a spot on her first Olympic team in the mile after being so dominant at the distance throughout this season. And—a drama-filled two heats of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase!
Keep reading for more highlights from Eugene.
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First-time Olympians make up women’s 5,000-meter trio
Running in temperatures above 90 degrees, Elise Cranny wins the women’s 5,000 meters in 15:27.81, followed by her Bowerman Track Club teammate Karissa Schweizer in 15:28.11. Rachel Schneider rounds out the Olympic team, crossing in 15:29.56.
A slow first two-thirds of this race had the entire race pack together with four laps to go. The first eight laps were run around 79 seconds before picking up with a 71 seconds the fourth from final lap, as athletes started getting dropped from there. Each sequential lap was faster than the last until only Cranny, Schweizer, Schneider and 2016 Olympian Abbey Cooper were left as the bell sounded.
A sprint around the track commenced and Cooper fell off the pack, fighting hard to stay in contention but unable to hold on. The other three ran away with it, giving Team USA’s three spots to Cranny, Schweizer, and Schneider, all first-time Olympians.
“It feels like a dream come true,” Schneider said. “To get to go represent our country on the highest stage at the Olympics is just a huge honor. I’m really looking forward to training as hard as I can.”
Cranny and Schweizer led the entire second half of the race, working together and trading the lead on the final laps until both found themselves in a dead sprint over the final 100 meters. Schweizer had the lead initially; however, Cranny found space on the inside lane and ran to the top spot.
“To have someone you train with everyday and be able to do that together,” Cranny said. “Just knowing that we’ve been up at altitude, working together and being able to feed off each other and even Rachel too, her making her first time and having competed against her for a while and all three of us competing in college, it’s just a really special group.”
Read more about the race here.
Donavan Brazier upset in the 800 meters
The men’s 800 meters saw a huge upset, as Donovan Brazier, the American record-holder in the event and reigning world champion, struggled on the final lap, finishing eighth in 1:47.88.
Clayton Murphy—who won bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio, and was the only person in the heat with Olympic experience—won the race in a world-leading 1:43.18. He fought his way back to the front spot on the final lap after spending most of the race around fourth.
Behind Murphy was NCAA champion Isaiah Jewett, who just finished his collegiate career last weekend and is now on his way to his first Olympic Games in Tokyo. Jewett led the way the entire race until Murphy caught him on the final stretch. His final time was 1:43.85.
“Just being patient, but Isaiah decided to push it and decided to push it again and decided to push it again, I just kept closing, closing, closing,” Murphy said after the race. “The last 100 was just how tough can I be?”
The final spot was claimed by Bryce Hoppel, who held off a kick from Isaiah Harris to finish third with a time of 1:44.14. This is also his first Olympic team.
New Balance runners sweep the women’s 1500 meters
Despite being elbowed off the track in the first 100 meters, Elle Purrier St. Pierre kept her spot in the front and ran away from the field to continue her dominance in the 1500-meter distance. She was the lone athlete to run sub-4 (3:58.03).
“It’s really surreal. It still hasn’t set in,” Purrier St. Pierre said. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment for so long, and it’s really emotional. I’m so happy. I’m happy my family is here to share this with me and my teammates. I led most of it because I believed in myself and knew I was strong enough to do that, and wanted it to be fast.”
Purrier St. Pierre’s her two New Balance teammates, Cory McGee and Heather McLean, will join her in Tokyo, taking second and third, respectively.
McGee, who finished in 4:00:67 was challenging for the top spot through the first three and a half laps before falling back.
“With about 200 meters to go I felt like I was running the fastest I’ve ever run,” McGee said. “With 100 meters to go, I was starting to feel tired, but I knew that I could be an Olympian. When I crossed the line, I knew I was going to Tokyo.”
McLean came up in the second half of the race to take the third spot on the final lap and hold off a charging Shannon Osika on the final stretch. MacLean finished with a time of 4:02.09.
“I’ve been picturing this moment for months and months,” McLean said. “Elle and I have been talking about how special it would be. I’m sure our coach is ecstatic. It doesn’t take much to run fast just believing in yourself and your training. We are all best friends. It’s an honor. I’m so lucky.”
All three women will compete in their first Olympics.
Read more about the race here.
Drama in the heats of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase
In the first heat of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, Sean McGorty, a favorite to make the Olympic team had to pull off to the side after hopping a barrier to adjust his right spike, putting him into a huge hole with just three laps to go. Though he did not finish in the top five of his heat to automatically qualify for the final, his time was good enough to put him through to the final on Friday, June 25.
“I’ve seen [people lose shoes in race] before,” McGorty said after the race. “I’ve heard of people taking the shoe off. But with it being a prelim and the track being hot I was worried about taking it off. So I decided to put it back on. I thought I'd be most relaxed with my full shoe on.”
The top finishers in the qualifying heats were Isaac Updike (8:21.01), Hillary Bor (8:21:09), and Daniel Michalski (8:22:03).
