Trials tension: It’s all on the line for track stars

EUGENE, Ore. – For some, such as Allyson Felix, the U.S. Olympic track and field trials are all about finishing in the top three in a given event to secure a spot on the team that will go to Beijing.

For others, such as Tyson Gay, the two-week meet that begins today is about winning, a chance to establish – or re-establish – supremacy and confidence before the Summer Games.

And for many, the trials and the Olympics themselves are all part of the process of rehabilitating a sport that’s been devastated in recent years by a series of drug scandals and suspensions.

“This is the cleanest track and field has been for a very long time,” 400-meter favorite Sanya Richards said Thursday. “It’s very exciting. It’s definitely a level playing field, and I feel that the winners will be true champions and the ones that have worked the hardest and are definitely clean. And I think that the fans will start to feel that.

“They’ll start to feel that we compete from our hearts and we’ve worked hard and we enjoy what we do – and I think that will make a big difference moving forward to the Beijing Games.”

A few hours after she spoke, there was a collective sigh of relief when reigning 100-meter Olympic champion Justin Gatlin’s bid to have a doping suspension set aside so he could run in the trials was turned down in federal court.

Instead of the specter of drugs, the focus can be on athletes such as Felix (2004 Olympic silver medalist in the 200; 2007 world champion in three events), Gay (100 and 200 world champion), Richards (Olympic relay gold medalist) and Jeremy Wariner (Olympic and world champion in the 400).

Felix said Thursday she hopes to run in four events in Beijing in August: the 100, the 200, the 400 relay and the 1,600 relay.

First things first, though. Unlike some countries, where an Olympic roster might be chosen behind closed doors – or basically preordained because there isn’t a plethora of top athletes – the U.S. squad is formed during the trials, making for intense competition.

Some pretty big names have failed to qualify in the past because of the rigid system. Perhaps the most infamous example is decathlete Dan O’Brien: In 1992, he and Dave Johnson were the focus of a shoe company’s “Dan vs. Dave” marketing campaign, but O’Brien no-heighted in the pole vault and did not make the American team for the Barcelona Olympics.