Richards-Ross bid for fourth Olympic team ends with hamstring injury

EUGENE, Ore. – Moments after her decorated sprinting career ended six weeks earlier than she planned, Sanya Richards-Ross walked off the track at Hayward Field with mixed emotions.

Tears rolled down her cheeks because her bid to make a fourth Olympic team ended Friday when she pulled up halfway through her 400 meters qualifying heat clutching her right hamstring. At the same time, a bright smile stretched across her face because the crowd at her favorite track gave her a sendoff to remember.

As Richards-Ross climbed to her feet and slowly jogged down the backstretch, the track-savvy crowd stood and roared in salute of the retiring four-time Olympic gold medalist. Richards-Ross, 31, responded by waiving and blowing kisses toward the fans before pausing to give the first of several emotional interviews.

“I’ll always remember the way the crowd reacted,” Richards-Ross said. “To be able to run a half a victory lap here at Hayward Field for my final 400 that I didn’t finish, I thought that was pretty special.”

The sight of Richards-Ross looking vulnerable is jarring because she has been the gold standard in the women’s 400 for so long. Richards-Ross set the American record in the 400 in 2006, anchored three gold medal-winning U.S. 4 x 400 relay teams and finally captured her first individual 400 gold at the 2012 Olympics.

A fourth Olympics would have been the ideal way for Richards-Ross to end her farewell season, but in reality she arrived in Eugene as a long shot to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Games. She had surgery on her ailing right foot in November, struggled in her season-opening 400 at the Prefontaine Classic in May and then had to be carried off the track last month in Atlanta after straining the same hamstring she aggravated Friday.

“The doctors said four to six weeks,” Richards-Ross said. “I didn’t have four to six weeks. I told him, ‘You’ve got to get me ready in 2½’ ”

The disappointing conclusion to Richards-Ross’s storied career was the most notable storyline from the first day of qualifying in the 400 meters. Reigning NCAA champion Courtney Okolo ran the fastest time (50.78 seconds), while Allyson Felix overcame a lingering ankle injury to advance to Saturday’s semifinals with the day’s ninth-fastest time (51.96).

Among the other qualifiers in the 400 was 33-year-old DeeDee Trotter, who has been competing against Richards-Ross every season since both were in college in the early 2000s. Trotter, who will also retire at the end of the summer, posed for pictures with Richards-Ross after their final meet together and then wrapped her in an emotional hug.

“Sanya and I have gone back and forth our entire career,” Trotter said. “She’s been a competitor but she’s also been a teammate. I can definitely relate to how she’s feeling emotionally. I left the hotel almost in tears today because I knew it could be my last race. I have a lot of respect for the career Sanya has had and I wish her continued success after track and field.”

RUPP’S BIG DECISION

The standard bearer in American distance running may have an enviable choice to make by the end of next week.

Galen Rupp could get to decide which of three races to run at the Olympics in Rio.

Already qualified in the marathon, Rupp added to his list of options by winning the 10,000 meters on Friday on the opening day of the U.S. Olympic Trials. The 30-year-old overcame unusually warm temperatures in Eugene to surge on the final lap, leaving behind second-place Shadrack Kipchirchir and claiming his eighth straight national title in his signature race.

An Oregon alum and beloved figure at Hayward Field, Rupp is also among the favorites to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in the 5,000 meters next weekend. He intends to run the 10,000 in Rio no matter what and will likely choose between the 5,000 and the marathon.

“I’ll probably have to pick two,” Rupp said. “Doubling, that’s a huge ask. To try to do three would be way too much.”

KOVACS SURVIVES NEWFOUND PRESSURE

When Joe Kovacs finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012, it was a pleasant surprise for the previously unheralded shot putter.

Kovacs fell 7 1/2 inches shy of qualifying for the Olympics, but the 5-foot-11 thrower proved himself against more experienced shot putters up to five or six inches taller than he was.

Expectations were far higher for Kovacs on Friday in his return to the Olympic Trials. The reigning world champion owns the longest throw in 13 years and is among the favorites to medal in Rio.

Kovacs indeed qualified for the Olympics on Friday, though not without some tense moments first. His best effort in his first five throws was five feet shy of his personal best, leaving him in third place overall and in jeopardy of being bumped from the U.S team again if someone behind him uncorked a big final throw.

Fortunately for Kovacs, nobody eclipsed his throw of 69 feet in the sixth round. Then Kovacs’ final-round throw sailed more than 72 feet, earning him second place in between champion Ryan Crouser (72-6½) and third-place Darrell Hill (70-11¾).

“I can’t be playing defense,” Kovacs said. “That’s what I learned today. It’s not about playing defense. It’s about breaking records and going for big throws. I’ll have that mindset when I get to Rio.”

CARNAGE IN MEN’S 800

Three of the leading contenders to make it to Rio in the men’s 800 failed to advance out of the opening round of qualifying.

First two-time Olympian Nick Symmonds withdrew from the Trials with an ankle injury. Then 2012 Olympic finalist Duane Solomon locked up down the stretch in his heat and plummeted from first to fourth. And finally 19-year-old collegiate record holder Donovan Brazier faded to fourth in his heat and did not advance to Saturday’s semifinals on time.