A fitting theme for the penultimate day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Trials: it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

Just ask Monae’ Nichols, who sat in fourth place in the final of the long jump competition. Nichols has a 6.97m personal best from 2022, but heading into Trials she was one centimeter shy of the Olympic qualifying standard with a 6.85m season’s best. In her last jump of the competition, Nichols came up clutch in multiple ways, jumping her way from 5th into 3rd and improving her season’s best to the 6.86m auto-qualifier.

The long jump was full of drama, with eventual champion Tara Davis-Woodhall needing a mark in the third round just to keep jumping and eventually pulling out a 7.00m leap in the fifth round to defend her national title. And three different women held the third position in the final round of competition, with Lex Brown starting the round in third at 6.77m, then Quanesha Burks landing a 6.80m jump, and finally Nichols taking the critical final spot with her final effort. There’s plenty of discourse around what role field events should play in the sport, and the women’s long jump final was a perfect example of why the stakes, drama, and rivalries of the field half of the sport deserve a bigger spotlight.

At the top of the ticket, the 200m finals went largely according to form with Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles defending their U.S. titles in speedy times — 21.81 and 19.53. Both Thomas and Lyles finished third in Tokyo but head into Paris the favorite for gold. Behind Thomas, however, was a wild ride as #2 seed Sha’Carri Richardson was bested by 2019 World silver medalist Brittany Brown and NCAA champion McKenzie Long. Brown is an incredible gamer, making the team with a lifetime best of 21.90, and Long bounced back well after missing the final in the 100m.

The 10,000m drama isn’t just late-breaking; it may continue after the Trials end as Trials champ Weini Kelati secured her spot but 2nd- and 3rd-placers Parker Valby and Karissa Schweizer will have to await the final world rankings to know if they have a spot on the Olympic starting line. In the women’s shot put, Tokyo silver medalist Raven Saunders set their third season’s best in the competition after improving from 19.17m to 19.54m in the qualifying round, throwing 19.88m in the first round of the final and 19.90m on the last throw to finish 2nd and secure another spot on Team USA. Trials champ (and 2x World champ) Chase Jackson took home another U.S. title, but it also took her a little extra time and effort as she sat in fourth place halfway through the competition and only secured her Olympic spot with a 20.10m throw in the fourth round.

Even when the eventual outcome is the top seed comes out victorious, a lot of anxiety, drama, and excitement can emerge along the way. The beauty of watching any track and field competition from start to finish is being able to take the roller coaster ride along with the athletes, and to feel the rush they feel when the script gets flipped in the final moments.

What To Watch On Day 10

The last day of competition means one thing: nothing but finals.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin are the heavy, heavy favorites in the 400m hurdles, and the real question will be whether they can better the past versions of themselves. With rumours of American and world record shape swirling, every eye will be glued to the clock when they cross the finish line.

Most of the fastest 100m hurdles in the world go head-to-head in the final, with 5 of the 10 fastest athletes in the world all on the same start line. And middle-distance fans will get the culmination of several weeklong storylines as the men’s 800m, women’s 1500m, and 5000m wrap up their rounds.

The women’s 1500m in particular is shaping up to be an absolute banger, with a whole slew of heavy hitters, U.S. champs, Olympians, and sub-4 runners all trying to find themselves in the right place at the right time to make the team. Trying to pick a top three among Nikki Hiltz, Sinclaire Johnson, Elle St. Pierre, Cory McGee, Heather MacLean, Emily MacKay, and Elise Cranny is maybe the biggest challenge of the entire week for the armchair experts. The race itself will surely be a must-watch.

Follow along with live results here and on the CITIUS MAG social channels.

Race Of The Day: Men's 200m

Two years ago at this very same track, Team USA made history with a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200m at the World Championships, led by Noah Lyles’s 19.31 American record.

Two years later, the same trio — Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, and Erriyon Knighton — is headed to Paris. Lyles, the 3x reigning World champion in the event, has accomplished just about everything you can possibly accomplish in the 200m — but he’s never won an Olympic title, as he only finished third in the event in Tokyo. In the three years since, Lyles has not lost a single 200m. Yes, you read that right.

Bednarek, the silver medalist from Tokyo, is having a season for the ages and is arguably even better than the 2021 or 2022 version of himself. “Kung Fu Kenny” finished 2nd in both the 100m and 200m, both in personal bests, and more importantly, he put more pressure on Lyles coming down the home stretch than we’ve seen in a good while.

Knighton got the job done in a 19.77 season’s best in third, and although we take it for granted at this point, it’s worth noting that the Florida-based phenom is still only 20 years old. It’s pretty rare that you see an athlete make two Olympic teams and pick up two global medals before you can legally drink.

The one guy you’ve gotta really feel for in this event (regardless of how you might feel about his history in the sport) is Christian Coleman. Coleman will almost certainly represent Team USA in Paris on a relay, but he still finished the unenviable 4th place in both the 100m and the 200m. In the longer event, it’s particularly commendable that Coleman notched a 19.89 season’s best in what’s historically his weaker event, putting himself in the mix for the team as much as he could.

With the Jamaican 100m contingent rounding into form nicely, the Americans will have their work cut out for them in the shorter event, but even with a strong challenge from Botswanan Letsile Tebogo, the world #3 behind Lyles and Bednarek, a Team USA sweep in Paris looks like a distinct possibility.

Athlete Of The Day: Weini Kelati

In 2014, a 17-year-old Weini Kelati was here in Eugene competing in the World Junior Championships, and when it came time to fly back home, she never boarded the plane. Kelati sought asylum in the United States and attended both high school and college here, winning two NCAA titles for New Mexico and becoming eligible to represent the U.S. in international competition in 2021.

Kelati’s found success across a range of distances and competitions, representing Team USA on the roads and in cross country and setting an American record in the half marathon in January 2024. But until yesterday, Kelati had never made a U.S. team on the track.

As the only entrant with the automatic qualifying standard of 30:40 in the 10,000m, Kelati was virtually guaranteed a spot on Team USA barring a disastrous performance, but that didn’t stop her from going for the win. And win she did, thanks to a 66-second final lap and a 31:41.07 winning time. Kelati is a perfect example of why it’s important to know the stories behind the athletes: on paper, you’d think it would be easy to look at the top seed in the event coming out with the win and think it’s predictable, maybe even boring. But knowing how much bravery, risk, and perseverance went into Kelati’s decade-long journey to the Olympics makes it emotional and rewarding to watch her cross that finish line and pick up that American flag.

Kelati isn’t just a prodigious talent and a fierce competitor. She’s a living testament to the possibilities unlocked by the American dream and the power of persistence.

Photo Of The Day

A heartwarming display of emotion and sportsmanship between Olympic Trials champ Gabby Thomas and first-time Team USA qualifier McKenzie Long following the 200m final.

Social Moment To Remember

Training partners and 800m finalists Bryce Hoppel and Hobbs Kessler have somehow managed to have crop-tops made of their viral hand-holding moment in the first round.