U-Hi grad Walker going to Olympics

EUGENE, Ore. – Brad Walker cut it a little close but in the end he is still headed for Bejing.

The University High School graduate and former University of Washington star placed third in the pole vault on Sunday at the U.S. Olympics Track and Field Trials to claim the final spot to the Summer Games in August.

Walker cleared 18 feet, 6 ½ inches. Derek Miles won with an effort of 19 feet, 0- 1/4 inches, and 40-year-old Jeff Hartwig qualified second at 18-81/4.

Walker, the U.S. record holder at 19-93/4, struggled a bit with conditions that were periodically windy.

“That fiberglass (pole) catches wind pretty bad and it turns your body sideways and it puts you in a position where you can’t leave the ground sometimes so I actually ran through a couple of those because I couldn’t line it up,” Walker said. “I didn’t have enough time to square back up.

“It happens, but I mean you try not to do that at the Olympic Trials. I am really confident in bad conditions. I am really confident jumping in bad conditions like rain and wind. Helsinki was wet. Osaka had some swirly winds and stuff like that. Sometimes you get the luck of the draw.”

Still, Walker is headed for his first Olympics after finishing sixth at the 2004 trials. And he appreciated the support he received at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus, where he set the American record at the Prefontaine Classic on June 8.

“Hayward is the closest thing I have to a home track,” Walker said. “I have been here quite a bit in the past few years. The Prefontaine Classic this year was one of my most emotional meets ever.”

In other highlights:

•Tyson Gay sprinted faster than anyone has in the 100 meters, but his time of 9.68 seconds doesn’t count as a world record because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind. Here’s what does matter: Gay qualified for his first Olympics.

Gay’s race came with the wind blowing at 4.1 meters per second; anything above 2.0 is not allowed for record purposes.

Walter Dix, the 2007 NCAA champion from Florida State, overtook Darvis Patton in the final 20 meters for second place.

The official world record is 9.72 seconds, set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt on May 31.

•Bershawn Jackson led a trio of favorites in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. Jackson won in 48.17, followed by reigning world champion Kerron Clement in 48.36 and Angelo Taylor in 48.42.

•In the women’s 400 hurdles, Tiffany Ross-Williams, Queen Harrison and Sheena Tosta qualified to go to China.

•In the women’s discus, Aretha Thurmond repeated her trials victory from 2004 by throwing 213 feet, 11 inches (65.20 meters), and she’ll be joined in Beijing by Suzy Powell-Roos, who’s on her third Olympic team, and Stephanie Brown Trafton.

•Only two women made the team in the triple jump: three-time national champion Shani Marks and Erica McLain.