Spearmon cruises, Bolt loses at trials

Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore.

With a Monday runoff in the women’s 100 meters still looming over the U.S. track trials, Wallace Spearmon kept the men’s 200 controversy-free with an easy victory.

Spearmon got off to a slow start, but recovered in time to win in 19.82 seconds Sunday at Hayward Field.

His victory — and his chance for redemption at the London Games after losing the bronze medal to disqualification in Beijing — was an expected finish to what should have been the conclusion to the trials.

Instead, Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh will run Monday afternoon to settle a third-place tie in the 100 for the final spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

Felix and Tarmoh finished in a dead heat for third in the 100 more than a week ago behind winner Carmelita Jeter and runner-up Tianna Madison, putting the team for the event in limbo. Track officials had no policy in place to resolve it but the next day devised a tiebreaker that included the options of a runoff or a coin flip.

The decision was put off eight days to allow Felix and Tarmoh to focus on Saturday’s night 200, which Felix handily won. Tarmoh finished fifth.

On Sunday morning the athletes got together with track officials and decided on the Monday runoff.

USA Track and Field was criticized because there was no tiebreaking policy in the first place and because the matter lingered for so long. It certainly got most of the attention on Sunday as the trials wound to a close.

Jamaican Trials

KINGSTON, Jamaica

No posing, no salutes, no fist pumping. First, Yohan Blake fell to both knees and rested his head on the track. A bit later, he simply paced in front of the jam-packed grandstand at National Stadium and stared into the crowd, letting all those fans soak in a nice, long look.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the man to beat at the London Olympics.

In a result that no longer feels like a surprise, Blake beat Usain Bolt in the 200 meters at the Jamaican Olympic trials Sunday, finishing in 19.80 seconds to edge the world-record holder by 0.03.

When it was over, Bolt was the first one to approach his training partner and buddy and give him a big bear hug. Moments later, Bolt was down on the ground, getting his right hamstring stretched out, while Blake was celebrating — rather modestly — in front of the fans, who now have not one, but two, legitimate gold medal hopefuls for the sprints in London.

“Usain always gives me a lot of encouragement and tells me to keep coming to this race,” Blake said about the 200.

Boy, did he.

The win came two days after Blake, the reigning world champion at 100 meters, beat Bolt in the 100 by running a personal-best 9.75.

“I can never be discouraged,” Bolt said. “I’m never worried until my coach gets worried, and my coach isn’t worried, so I’m OK.”