TOKYO -- All nine Team USATF athletes on the track advanced to the next round and Valarie Allman had the farthest discus throw ever by an American woman at the Games to lead all qualifiers on day two’s morning session at Olympic Stadium.
On demand coverage of this session’s events
Women’s 400m Hurdles 1st round
Needing to finish only in the top four to automatically advance to the next round, NCAA champion Anna Cockrell (Waxhaw, North Carolina / USATF Southern California) returned from a month-long competitive break after the Trials and finished third in the first heat in 55.37.
Five years after first appearing at the Games as a teenager just breaking onto the international scene, Sydney McLaughlin (Playa Vista, California / USATF Southern California) ran a very measured and controlled race in heat three to win in 54.65. The new world record holder took the lead after hurdle eight and then cruised over the final two barriers on the way to victory.
Reigning Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad (Fort Worth, Texas / USATF Southern California) opened the defense of her title impressively in the final heat, speeding to the first hurdle to establish a rhythm that carried her through the rest of the race and to a win in 53.97, the fastest time of all five heats.
Men’s 800m 1st round
NCAA champion Isaiah Jewett (Inglewood, California / USATF Southern California) dashed to the front right away as usual and pulled the field through 400m in just under 52 seconds. Peter Bol of Australia and Ferguson Rotich of Kenya passed him going into the final 200m and he ended up fifth in 1:45.07, grabbing one of the six time qualifier berths for the semifinal. Rotich won in 1:43.75, the fastest time ever run in the first round at the Games.
Rio bronze medalist Clayton Murphy (Pepper Pike, Ohio / USATF Lake Erie) avoided trouble as a runner fell just past the 100m mark and settled into fifth through the bell in 52.8. Remaining calm and looking for an opening to get to the front, Murphy squeezed between two runners down the stretch and won in 1:45.53.
The final heat saw Doha fourth-place finisher Bryce Hoppel (Midland, Texas / USATF Missouri Valley) sliding into second at the bell behind Wesley Vazquez of Puerto Rico before briefly moving a few inches ahead with 200m to go. Around the final bend Hoppel slid back to second and then, looking left and right, eased up a bit when he was sure of a top-three finish and crossed the line in 1:45.64 for third to advance automatically.
Women’s 100m Hurdles 1st round
The top four in each heat and the next four fastest overall would advance to the semifinal, and Gabbi Cunningham (Holly Springs, North Carolina / USATF North Carolina) ran a very safe race in heat one to place third in 12.83 and secured a spot in the next round. Cunningham was cautious out of the blocks after seeing the woman in the lane next to her cautioned for early movement on the first attempt, but she gained ground over each barrier.
World record holder Keni Harrison (Pflugerville, Texas / USATF Texas Southern) also had to endure a restart after a caution for the runner next to her, but once the gun fired for real she was never challenged on the way to a very easy 12.74 that looked like she was expending the very least amount of energy possible to safely navigate the 10 barriers.
Christina Clemons (Lawrence, Kansas / USATF Missouri Valley) got out very well in heat four and was in the lead for several hurdles before Jamaica’s world U20 record holder Brittany Anderson went to the front to win in 12.67 with Clemons second in 12.91 to easily advance.
Women’s Discus qualifying
If you blinked in the second flight you missed the sole effort by American record holder Valarie Allman (Austin, Texas / USATF New York). Allman effortlessly sailed the platter out to 66.42m/217-11 and was the first woman in either flight to surpass the automatic qualifying mark. It was the longest throw ever by an American woman at the Games, adding more than five feet to the previous best set by Leslie Deniz at Los Angeles in 1984.
In the first qualifying group, with nearly still conditions, Rachel Dincoff (Las Cruces, New Mexico / USATF New Mexico) had a best of 56.22m/184-5, while Kelsey Card (Madison, Wisconsin / USATF Wisconsin) hit 56.04m/183-10 on her final attempt. Neither woman advanced to the final.
Men’s Pole Vault qualifying
Trials champion Chris Nilsen (Vermillion, South Dakota / USATF Dakotas) and collegiate record holder KC Lightfoot (Lee's Summit, Missouri / USATF Missouri Valley) both went over 5.75m/18-10.25 on their first attempts to advance to the 14-man final. Nilsen was faultless throughout his series, taking only three attempts overall, but Lightfoot had a slight bobble at 5.50m/18-0.5 and needed two tries.
A late add to Team USATF, Matt Ludwig (Akron, Ohio / USATF Lake Erie) cleared the opening height of 5.30m/17-4.5 and then 5.50m/18-0.5 on his first attempts, but couldn’t get over 5.65m/18-6.5 and did not advance.
Full session results are available on the World Athletics website. The next session starts Saturday at 6:10 A.M. ET with Men’s Long Jump qualifying. Fans in the U.S. can watch here via NBC properties.
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