By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A few things usually have to happen to make the U.S. track and field team for the Olympic games. Athletes must hit a standard to qualify for the U.S. team trials, which were held at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field through Sunday. Athletes must finish in the top three of their event to make the U.S. Olympic team. To actually compete in Paris later this summer, athletes must also meet an Olympic standard. The latter will cost Sterling's Tyus Wilson the opportunity to compete in Paris. According to Sporting News, the U.S. will take just two high jumpers to France, including JuVaughn Harrison, the fourth-place finisher at the trials.
Wilson, a three-time state champion while at Sterling High School, surpassed the U.S. trials "A" Standard of 2.23m at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa on April 26. He again cleared 7 feet, 5 inches (2.26m) at the Shocker Open in Wichita on May 3. He went even higher to 7-6 (2.29m) to win the Big 10 championship in Michigan on May 12. Wilson cleared 2.23m to finish second at the NCAA National Championships in Oregon on June 7. Entering the trials in Oregon, however, he was still just shy of the Olympic "A" standard of 2.33m (7-7.75).
Just two American high jumpers had met the Olympic standard heading into Thursday's first round in Oregon. With a miss at 7-2.25 (2.19m), Wilson still made the finals alongside fellow Kansas-native Devin Loudermilk, a former West Elk standout now competing at the University of Kansas.
During Sunday's Olympic trial finals, Wilson was perfect on three attempts through 2.24m. He missed three tries at 2.27m (7-5.25). Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Caleb Snowden set a personal best by clearing 2.27m on his final attempt to move past Wilson into second. Shelby McEwen, already with the Olympic standard, was perfect through 7-6.5, passed at 7-7.5, and missed three attempts at 7-8.75. Harrison, the only other jumper with the Olympic standard, missed his first attempt at 2.24m to finish fourth behind Wilson.
Because only one of the top three finishers Sunday had the Olympic standard, the conversation turned to world rankings. There were 33 high jumpers in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Wilson is currently ranked No. 49 in the world.
The move to include Harrison on the U.S. Olympic team is a slight departure from what track fans saw with an earlier race. On June 21, reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu posted a 2.01.73 in the women's 800m race to qualify for the trial semifinals. She ran a 1:58.84 to win her semifinal heat on Sunday. She tripped in Monday's finale to place ninth in 2:19.69. Despite an appeal, she was excluded from this year's U.S. Olympic team. She is ranked No. 8 in the world.