EUGENE, Ore. — One of the quirkier qualification processes here at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials involved Thursday’s 1,500-meter women’s first round. Twenty-seven women started — and only three were eliminated.
That would seem to be a waste of runners’ energy, with two more races ahead to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Either add more runners to the heat, or simply have two rounds — a first round and a final. But that doesn’t bother Colorado’s Jenny Simpson, who considers the early rounds essential to her preparation process.
“My mantra through this first round was: You have to respect the process,” Simpson said after running 4 minutes, 17.31 seconds in a rain-soaked race at Hayward Field before a crowd of 21,835 people. “I think that just the process of warming up, going to the call room — all of that stuff — this isn’t a workout. This is hard, and every single person in this race wants to get through. I have a lot of respect for how difficult today would be. And I’m glad it’s over.”
Simpson paced the field by jumping to the front in the first 100 meters after seeing a fall in an earlier heat — which can easily end any hope of qualifying. Runners must finish in the top three in Sunday’s final to make Team USA to Rio.
“It’s a great dress rehearsal for me to say: Remember, it’s hard,” said Simpson, the two-time defending U.S. champion. “It didn’t feel like workout. It felt like a race. Plus, it’s good for me: I do well through the rounds. I think it’s to my advantage to have it.”
Simpson was one of three former Buffaloes in the third heat of the event, which also included 2008 graduate Sara Vaughn and Sara Sutherland — all of whom moved on to Friday’s 6:03 p.m. semifinal.
Vaughn is returning to the trials for the second time after giving birth to her third child just 11 months ago. She started training in January, joining Lee Troop’s elite group with the Boulder Track Club, and has spent much of this outdoor season re-acquainting her body and mind with how to race at a professional level.
“My body feels great,” Vaughn said. “I’ve been waiting for a race to feel like that all season.”
