EUGENE, Ore. - Former Arkansas Razorback and Fayetteville's own Wallace
Spearmon will represent Team USA at the 2008 Olympics, it was decided on
Sunday, the final day of the U.S. Olympic Trials at Oregon's Hayward Field.
Spearmon finished third in the 200-meter finals. He clocked a time
of 19.90 to secure his spot in Beijing. Spearmon will be a member of Team
USA at the Olympic Games for the first time in his career.
"I'm very excited," Spearmon said. "Words can't describe what I feel right
now. My family was in the stands and they were all crying. In the first 100
meters, I didn't know where I was because everyone was on the inside of me
and Xavier Carter was gone. I kept looking around me because I was basically
running blind. When we came off the turn everyone was ahead of me and I
thought, 'Oh no here I am again. I've got to catch up.' I dug deep to catch
everyone and unfortunately for Rodney Martin, I caught him."
"I plan to run more 400's before the Olympics to touch up the last part of
my race and to get stronger," Spearmon said. "This is the first time I've
doubled, even though I only ran three rounds of the 100 meters, so I don't
know how I'm supposed to feel. All I know is I'm going to Beijing."
Andy McClary concluded a stellar outdoor season with an eighth-place finish
in the 1,500-meter finals. He clocked a time of 3:42.40. The 2008 event
marks the second-straight season that McClary has advanced to the
1,500-meter finals at the USA Championships. He finished fifth at the 2007
USA Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.
"The race started really slowly so you knew the time wasn't going to be
there but we went fast at the end," McClary said. "There was a lot of
jostling for position. When they all took off, I just tried to stay with
them. There were some pretty big gaps but if you could gain a step, you
could've passed someone. Races like that are a lot more tactical. There were
10 guys in that race that could have gone to the Olympics. The top three
deserve to be there. When you have that many great runners in one race, you
won't always get the times but there will be the kick at the end. I didn't
quite have it at the end but I managed to pass a few guys."
Also in the 1,500-meter finals was former Hog, All-American and SEC Champion
Said Ahmed. He finished seventh with a clocking of 3:42.20.
Former Arkansas spear chucker and NCAA runner-up Eric Brown competed in the
javelin finals. He finished 11th with his best throw of the day measuring
219-0.
For complete results, an updated list of entries and a television schedule
from the U.S. Olympic Trials, visit USATF.org. For information on the
Razorbacks at the Olympic Trials, visit Hogwired.com.
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