June 21, 2021
Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber discuss the third day of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials live from Eugene, Oregon. We start this episode by reaffirming that we are now big throws guys. Rudy Winkler broke an American record that had stood since 1996 with his 82.71-meter heave in the men’s hammer throw. Stay tuned because he will be a guest on the show later this week.
Other topics discussed:
– The Trayvon Bromell comeback chatter really started in April after he ran 9.8 and then improved upon that to a 9.77, which ranks as the top time in the world for 2021. He backed it all up and cruised to a 9.80 win in the men’s 100m. We also discuss how Fred Kerley’s big risk paid off by opting to run the 100m and 200m instead of the 400m, where he won a silver medal at worlds in 2019.
– Allyson Felix’s final 100 meters were a thing of beauty and landed her on her fifth U.S. Olympic team and her first as a mother. Quanera Hayes took the win in 49.78 and will be on her first Olympic team alongside with Wadeline Jonathas.
– Kyle gives his hypothetical men’s and women’s DMR teams if it was an Olympic event.
– The women’s 3,000m steeplechase saw some breakthroughs with Grayson Murphy taking her respective section by gunning for the Olympic standard and bringing Courtney Wayment along with her. This certainly makes Thursday’s final much more interesting.
– World record holder Keni Harrison gets even sweeter redemption after missing the 2016 Olympic team.
Tune into our daily podcast from the Olympic Trials is presented by Tracksmith.
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We’re excited to partner with Tracksmith, an independent running brand fueled by a deep love of the sport. They celebrate the amateur spirit and seek to inspire the personal pursuit of excellence. Tracksmith is pleased to be supporting 30 Olympic Trials qualifiers in Eugene, including athletes across 14 disciplines, as part of their Amateur Support Program. Check out Tracksmith’s essentials for racing and training – including the Strata kits their Trials athletes are racing in this week – at Tracksmith.com/CITIUS and use code CITIUS to receive 10% off any order until the last day of the trials, June 27th.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.