4 Thoughts from Day 2 of the Trials: 1500 Final Should be a Classic, Noah Lyles Wants to Run 9.7, & More
By Jonathan Gault
EUGENE, Ore. – The stars were out on day 2 of the 2024 US Olympic Trials on Saturday night in Eugene. Sha’Carri Richardson ran 10.71 to win the women’s 100 meters in resounding fashion and lead a 1-2-3 sweep for her Star Athletics group with Melissa Jefferson and TeeTee Terry joining her on the team to Paris.
Two-time defending Olympic champion and shot put GOAT Ryan Crouser earned his fifth straight US title by throwing 22.84 meters and will try to become the first man to win three straight Olympic shot put titles.
Noah Lyles impressed in round 1 of the men’s 100 meters by running 9.92, while Yared Nuguse tied the US championship record of 3:34.09 to win his 1500m semi and set up a sensational final on Monday night against 2021 Trials champ Cole Hocker, who won the other semi. We recap Day 2 here.
Below, four thoughts on the action from day 2 in Eugene.
An incredible men’s 1500-meter final is set after Yared Nuguse & Cole Hocker put on a show in the first two rounds
Entering the Olympic Trials, Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker, 5th and 7th in last year’s World Championship final, looked to be a cut above the competition and two days of qualifying rounds have done little to dispel that notion. In Friday’s first round, Hocker almost broke Matthew Centrowitz’s 3:34.09 US championship record with his 3:34.54. In today’s semis, Nuguse tied that mark. The fact that both men feel fit and confident enough to blast 3:34s in the rounds suggest something special may be in store for the final.
Hocker fans may have had a brief moment of doubt with 100 meters to go when Hocker came off the turn badly boxed on the rail. But those doubts vanished when Hocker found room to sneak by Luke Houser on the inside, at which point Hocker cruised to win the heat. Afterwards, he said he was not concerned about his positioning.
“Based on the pace today, I was beyond confident,” Hocker said. “If it didn’t open up, I was just going to go to the outside.”
While there is plenty of quality in this final, Nuguse and Hocker are the standouts, and the latest installment of their rivalry in Monday’s final promises to be one of the best yet. Three years ago, these two met in one of the most heavily-anticipated NCAA 1500m finals of all time, and that race delivered on the hype, Hocker edging ahead of Nuguse with 40 meters to go to win in 3:35.35 to Nuguse’s 3:35.60. After that race, we wrote, “the next decade in American 1500 running is going to be pretty damn fun” with races like this year’s Trials final in mind.
If recent history is a guide, expect Nuguse to go to the front and keep things manageable early before picking it up after 800 meters. That was his MO against Hocker at the 2021 NCAAs and that is what he did in last year’s US final, where he won and Hocker was 3rd. Nuguse feels comfortable near the front and is at his best kicking off a fast pace.
And Nuguse isn’t exactly keeping it a secret that he’d like to lead. He said that before Friday’s first round, his coach Dathan Ritzenhein told him “maybe you can take it easy instead of leading 12 laps this weekend.” Nuguse didn’t like that and spent most of today at the front.
“I was like, maybe we can go back to my normal strategy? And he was like yeah, that’s fine.”
That will make the spot on Nuguse’s shoulder the most valuable real estate in the field. Expect Hocker to work himself up there at some point. What will happen from there? No one can say for sure – and that is what makes the final so exciting.
Eric Holt: “I ran a dumb race. I deserved not to qualify.”
Eric Holt made a statement two weeks before the Trials by running 3:34.05 at the NYC Grand Prix and pushing 2022 world champ Jake Wightman to the line while beating Hobbs Kessler. The performance had many optimistic about Holt’s chances at the Trials, but after finishing 4th at USAs in 2022 and 12th last year, he will not even be in this year’s final as he was 11th in his semi and failed to advance.
Two things were working against Holt today. The first is that he did not run a smart race. He made a number of moves but most of them only served to cost Holt energy rather than materially improve his positioning. By the time it came to kick in the final 100, Holt couldn’t match the others’ gears.
“I’m struggling with tactical races,” Holt said. “Been struggling with them all my career. And to be honest, from yesterday, I struggled a little bit with the fast pace.”
That gets to obstacle #2: Holt doesn’t have the endurance of his rivals. Which means it was tough for him to bounce back from running 3:35 on Friday and having to race again a day later.
“Aerobically, I’m probably one of the weaker runners out there, if not the weakest,” Holt said.
Holt was disappointed not to advance, but he found his way to spin his weakness into a positive, speaking optimistically about his chances in the 800 later in the Trials.
“ I honestly told my coach, I think I’m in better 800 shape than 1500 shape,” Holt said. “I’m about to shock the world. I found a new event I’m better at.”
That remains to be seen, but Holt did run a 1:45.89 pb in his last 800, a victory at the Music City Track Carnival on June 1. It will take faster than that to make the team, however: the Olympic standard is 1:44.70, and Holt does not have it.
Noah Lyles: “I definitely want to hit 9.7”
Noah Lyles is tough enough to beat in the 100 meters as it is. Noah Lyles with a good start is damn near impossible to beat, and he had a good start today. Lyles said he shut things down at 60 meters and still ran 9.92, easily the fastest time of the day. Lyles said that when it comes to the 100 meters, he’s in an even better spot than last year, when he won the world title.
“I feel like I didn’t have what I was looking for in the first round of Worlds last year in the 100 (Lyles ran 9.95 in the first round at Worlds),” Lyles said. “I was still kind of searching. This year, I felt like I have everything, I’m doing it, I’m executing it when I want it. And it’s coming.”
What’s coming? Lyles wants a 9.7 clocking in the final. His pb is 9.83 from last year’s Worlds final, which puts him behind his US rivals Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley, both of whom have run 9.76. Lyles is ready to join the 9.7 club on Sunday night.
“From what we’ve seen in training, it will come,” Lyles said.
High schooler Christian Miller overcame a horrendous start to advance in the men’s 100
Miller, who just graduated from Creekside High School in Florida, entered the meet as the #2 seed with his 9.93 season’s best from April and showed that was no fluke by running 9.95 at New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia last week.
But Miller had a rough introduction to his first US senior championship as he reacted horribly to the gun and had to overcome a significant early deficit. Fortunately for Miller, the qualifying system in the first round is generous, with the top five advancing to the semis, and Miller was 5th in 10.22.
Miller showed maturity in not panicking despite the early setback, which he said was due to the electronic gun used at the Trials.
“It’s not the same as a high school at the start, it’s not a loud gun,” Miller said. “It’s just a little sound that I’ve gotta get used to and know that any sound that comes after the set, I just have to get out fast.”
Miller showed impressive poise and perspective during his mixed zone interview. His 9.93 was the world leader for several weeks this year, but he still wants more from his 2024 season. He’ll get the chance to earn a lot more on Sunday.
“It felt great to have my name out there and I felt like all the work I had done had got me to an amazing point,” Miller said. “Now I’m just ready to go out and get more.”
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