Olympic Update: Jenna Prandini wins silver medal in 4x100m relay; Cole Hocker advances to 1,500m final
The Oregon Ducks have been well-represented at the Tokyo Olympics this past week, with well over a dozen athletes running in the ‘Athletics’ section of the games.
Competition on the track is well underway, and for fans of the Ducks, it has been highlighted by Oregon legend Raevyn Rogers, who mounted an insane kick to win the bronze medal in the 800m final.
We will continue to update this list as the Olympic games go on, with some big stars continuing to take the track.
Jenna Prandini
(Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1423639852537495555 Jenna Prandini finally got her Olympic Medal. After coming up just short in both the 100m and 200m dash, the Oregon superstar reached the podium on her last attempt at the Tokyo Games, helping the U.S. 4x100 relay team that finished second, winning the Silver medal.
The former Duck great ran an impressive third leg to help the Americans finish in 41.45 seconds. Jamaica was the winner in 41.02.
Also on the U.S. team was Gabby Thomas, Teahna Daniels and Javianne Oliver.
Former Duck English Gardner, who won relay gold in Rio in 2016, will also get a silver medal as she ran in the semifinals.
Cole Hocker
Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
Cole Hocker's hot streak continues, as he advanced out of the semi-finals into the 1,500m final, getting a chance to run for his first Olympic medal. The freshman finished second in his 1,500-meter semifinal heat Thursday night in Tokyo in a personal-record 3:33.87 to automatically qualify for the final.
Matthew Centrowitz
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
While the current Duck was flying high, the former Duck and defending Olympic gold medalist was experiencing massive disappointment. Matthew Centrowitz, who won the 1,500m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, failed to make the final, finishing 9th. The semi-final that Centrowitz ran in was a record-breaker, with an Olympic record 3:31.65. Centrowitz crossed the line in 3:33.69, which was a season-best and actually faster than the time that Hocker crossed in.
Jessica Hull
(Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)
Jessica Hull was unable to reach the podium in her Olympic debut, finishing 11th in the 1,500m final, running for Australia. After falling back early in the race, Hull was unable to get back up to the front of the pack.
Devon Allen
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Devon Allen, a fan favorite in Tokyo, saw his Olympics come to an end just short of the goal, finishing 4th in the 110m hurdles final on Wednesday night, crossing in 13.14. The former Oregon football star was running in his second career Olympics, after winning the 110 hurdles for the second time at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Allen's 4th place time was just .04 seconds away from a Bronze medal, which was won by Jamaican sprinter, Ronald Levy, at 13.10. Hansle Parchment won the gold in 13.04, and American Grant Holloway won silver in 13.09.
Raevyn Rogers
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
For about 90 percent of the race, Oregon Ducks legend Raevyn Rogers was near the back of the pack, seemingly letting her chance at a first Olympic medal in the 800m final get away from her. Up ahead, United States sensation, Athing Mu, was dominating and pulling away down the backstretch. While the world was focused on the 19-year-old who was about to cruise to her first of hopefully many medals, Rogers was mounting a charge. Down the final straightaway, Raevyn flew up the leaderboard, making her way past four other women to just barely edge out a third-place finish as she crossed the stripe. Mu won the gold, and Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson — another 19-year-old — won the silver.
Devon Allen
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Devon Allen cruised to a victory in his return to the Olympic competition, running a 13.21 to place first in his preliminary heat of the 110m hurdles. Of the 6 preliminary heats on the day, Allen had the third-fastest time, and will race in the semi-final coming up on Wednesday morning in Japan (7 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday).
Cole Hocker
Cole Hocker continued to look to be in good form, cruising through his heat of the 1,500m to finish fourth and advance to the semi-final with a time of 3:36.16. Hocker will run again on Thursday morning at 4:00 a.m. Pacific Time to try and advance to the final.
Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Matthew Centrowitz
Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
Like Cole Hocker, Matthew Centrowitz had no trouble in his heat of the 1,500m, taking second place with a time of 3:41.12. Centrowitz, the defending Gold Medal Champion from the Rio Olympics, will look to defend his crown later this week.
Jenna Prandini
Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
It looked like Jenna Prandini was on a similar path as Rogers after her dominant performance in Round 1 of the 200m, but Jenna's Olympic experience in Tokyo ended in the early hours of Monday morning, where she placed 5th in her semi-final with a time of 22.57. Prandini also saw her bid for a medal in the 100m fall short, where she finished 4th in the semi-final with a season-best time of 11.11.
Jessica Hull
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Turning away from the USA, Oregon's Jessica Hull ran well for Australia, advancing to the semi-final in the 1,500m with a time of 4:05.28, good enough for a second-place finish in her qualifier. The semi-final will take place on Wednesday.
Charlie Hunter
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Charlie Hunter, who was the 2021 NCAA Indoor champion for the Ducks, advanced to the semi-final of the 800m, finishing 4th in his qualifying heat at 1:45.91. Later, in the semi-final, Hunter finished 7th with a time of 1:46.73, which was not good enough to advance him to the final.
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