Eight Wolverines to Represent U-M at Olympic Trials
6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
June 24, 2016
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- With the NCAA season complete, eight current or former University of Michigan men's track and field athletes will attempt to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over the next several weeks, representing three countries: the United States, Great Britain and Canada.
THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS (June 24-26 -- Birmingham, England)
Fresh off his NCAA Championships debut with the Michigan record under his belt, sophomore/freshman Joe Ellis will throw hammer at the British Championships this weekend. Ellis will throw on Sunday (June 26), with the event scheduled to begin at 8:14 a.m. ET.
More than 600 athletes will descend on Alexander Stadium this weekend as they compete for the prestigious honor of representing British Athletics. The top two athletes in each event who have already met the Olympic standard (77 meters) will represent team Great Britain in Rio.
• FOLLOW ALONG: British Championships Central
U.S. TRACK AND FIELD OLYMPIC TRIALS (July 1-10 -- Eugene, Oregon)
Three Wolverines who just helped wrap the program's best NCAA finish since 1997 will compete at the U.S.' qualifying event in early July: now-graduated Mason Ferlic, who closed his career with an NCAA championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and senior/junior Steven Bastien, an All-American in his own right. That duo will be joined by freshman sensation Taylor McLaughlin, fresh off a U.S. Junior National Championship in the 400-meter hurdles. That trio will compete along with former athletes Craig Forys (2008-12; steeplechase), Lex Williams (2006-10; 1,500-meter run) and Jeff Porter (2004-07; 110-meter hurdles) to represent the red, white and blue.
Bastien's two-day decathlon will begin at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday (July 2), concluding at 5:55 p.m. Sunday (July 3) events begin at 1 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. at historic Hayward Field. For Forys and Ferlic, the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinal will run on Monday, July 4, at 7:30 p.m., while the final race will be run at 8:23 p.m. on Friday (July 8). In Porter's 110-meter hurdle qualifying, semifinals are scheduled for 6:02 p.m. on Friday (July 8) with finals one day later at 8:52 p.m., and the 400-meter hurdles feature an opening round on Thursday (July 7) at 9:53 p.m., a semifinal round Friday (July 8) at 7:47 p.m. and a final round on Sunday (July 10) at 7:51 p.m. Williams will run in the first round of the 1,500-meter race on Thursday (July 7) at 7:21 p.m., followed by a semifinal on Friday (July 8) at 7:12 p.m. and the final scheduled for Sunday (July 10) at 8:20 p.m.
The 3,000-meter steeplechase standard of 8:30 has already been met by both Ferlic and Forys, while the decathlon standard of 8,100 points sits more than 100 points beyond Bastien's lifetime best. The qualifying time of 13.47 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles is already under Porter's belt and though 49.40 standard has not been attained by McLaughlin in the 400-meter hurdles, he will be added to the field based on size requirements. Among American competitors who have already met the Olympic standard in their respective events, a top-three finish will guarantee a trio to Rio to represent the United States.
• FOLLOW ALONG: U.S. Olympic Team Trials Home
CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS AND RIO SELECTION TRIALS (July 7-10 -- Edmonton, Alberta)
A recent inductee of the U-M Men's Track and Field Hall of Fame, former U-M great Nate Brannen will run for his native Canada, seeking his third Olympic bid (2008, 2012) at 1,500 meters. Brannen will compete at Foote Field in Edmonton, and his first-round race is scheduled for Thursday, July 7, at 4:40 p.m. ET. The semifinal race will be run the following day at 9:55 p.m. ET, and the event final will be run on Saturday, July 9, at 10:20 p.m. The 1,500-meter Olympic standard is 3:36.20, which Brannen has already met.
The top two athletes in each event who have already met the Olympic standard, plus one athlete chosen at coaches' discretion, will advance to compete for Team Canada in Rio.
• FOLLOW ALONG: Canadian Championship Series Home
Elsewhere, Brannen's fellow U-M Hall of Fame inductee Nick Willis, who has represented his native New Zealand in the last two Olympics already (2008, 2012), has already qualified to represent the Kiwis once again. He will also compete at 1,500 meters.
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
