U.S. Olympic track and field trials trials at a glance
When: Friday-July 10 Where: Eugene, Ore.
What's at stake: The top three finishers in each event, provided they have met the Olympic qualifying standard, will be named to the U.S. team for the Rio Games.
TV: NBC (Ch. 11) and NBCSN will televise semifinals and finals during eight days of the trials. NBC's coverage is on Friday (8 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.), Sunday (6 p.m.), July 8 (7 p.m.), July 9 (7 p.m.) and July 10 (6 p.m.). NBCSN will televise the trials on Saturday (4 p.m.), July 4 (6 p.m.), July 7 (7 p.m.) and July 8 (5 p.m.).
Minnesota connections: A number of athletes with Minnesota ties — led by former Gophers Hassan Mead, Liz Podominick and Ben Blankenship — are among the athletes who qualified to compete. Mead (Minneapolis), who trains with Oregon Track Club Elite, holds the top qualifying mark in the men's 5,000 meters (13:04.17) and is third in the 10,000 (27:33.04). Podominick (Lakeville) qualified third in the women's discus (63.87m), and Blankenship (Stillwater) has the third-best qualifying mark in the men's 1,500 (3:35.48). Others in the trials include 2012 Olympian Amanda Smock (Melrose), triple jump; Garrett Heath (Winona), men's 5,000; Biya Simbassa (Minneapolis), men's 5,000; Gabriele Grunewald (Minneapolis/Gophers), women's 1,500 and 5,000; Heather Kampf (Minneapolis/Gophers), women's 1,500; Heather Miller-Koch (St. Cloud State), heptathlon; Will Leer (Minnetonka), men's 1,500; Leslie Brost (Minneapolis), women's pole vault; Sean Donnelly (Gophers), men's hammer throw; Nicolle Murphy (Gophers), women's javelin; Jess Lehman (Gophers), heptathlon; Goaner Deng (Apple Valley/Gophers), men's 800; Harun Abda (Fridley/Gophers), men's 800; Mason Ferlic (St. Paul), men's 3,000 steeplechase; Jamie Cheever (Minneapolis/Gophers), women's 3,000 steeplechase; Emma Bates (Elk River), women's 10,000; and Maggie Ewan (St. Francis), women's discus.
For schedule, results and more information: usatf.org
RACHEL BLOUNT
