Felix, Gay cruise to Olympic track trial victories
If things keep going the way they did Friday, it won't be hard work.
Felix coasted to a victory in her 200-meter preliminary heat, leaving her three races away from earning the Olympic spot that pretty much seems preordained.
She would already be in had she finished in the top three last weekend in the 100, but that didn't happen, so she must get there in her best event.
She won her heat in 22.68 seconds, wiping the brow below her white headband when it was over, then heading quickly off the track. Quarterfinals and semis are today, and finals are Sunday.
"I've been waiting for this moment since I was a child, so it's good to get it started," Felix said.
She conceded her fifth-place finish in the 100 was hard to overlook in the long week since the finals.
"I thought about it," she said. "I didn't set myself up good in the semis, I put myself way out there in lane 8, which was not smart. I felt out of touch with the race. But I felt like I executed as best as I could."
Joining Felix in the next round will be all the usual suspects: 100 trials champion Muna Lee, Lauryn Williams, Marshevet Hooker, Carmelita Jeter.
He practically jogged to the finish, looking around him for anyone who might be closing in. Nobody was.
He finished in 20.43 and there was no scare, the way there was in his first 100 heat, when he pulled up early, misjudging the finish line before finishing strong to save face, and the race.
"It feels good," Gay said. "I just needed that first run to get rid of the cobwebs. It felt pretty good and relaxing. That's about the time I wanted to run."
Wallace Spearmon is in the same spot as Felix, having missed the 100 — his bonus race of sorts — and now concentrating on the 200. He cruised to the next round in 20.81.
Spearmon hopes to contend with Gay, the defending world champion in the 100 and 200, in the final.
"It was easy," Spearmon said. "I'm just trying to get through these rounds as easy as possible. Saving it for the final."
For surprises, fans had to look to the field, where the colorful Breaux Greer — he of the pink, black and white mohawk and the personality to match — finished 17th and failed to qualify for javelin finals.
"It was like I was skiing out there on ice," he said.
Greer, an eight-time defending national champion, hurt his shoulder at the world championships in Osaka and was throwing for the first time in competition since.
You can be the first to comment on this story.