EUGENE, Ore. – Harrison Williams' decathlon at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials was shadowed by disappointment Sunday when he no-heighted in the pole vault.
The Stanford sophomore was in sixth place with 5,753 points after seven events, and just seven points behind his school-record pace, when he failed to clear his first height, of 15-7. He was 347 points out of third place and an Olympic-team position at the time.
Despite receiving zero points in that event to take him out of contention for any meaningful score or result, Williams continued the competition and finished 15th, with 6,951 points.
The 110 high hurdles and pole vault are Williams' main open events. Williams ran a strong 14.12 in the hurdles to open the day, finishing third in the field and moving him up two places to sixth. However, the discus was a bit of a struggle, with his 128-10 dropping him below his personal-record pace, though he maintained his place.
The pole vault opening height was 13-11 ¼, but Williams passed on the first five heights. His opening jump of 15-7 was in line with his opening heights in other competitions. His personal best is 17-3 ½ and he had opened pole vault-only or decathlon events at 15-0 ¼ to 16-0 ½ during the outdoor season. It is the first time Williams has no-heighted in a multi-event competition.
Williams' season is not over. He is expected to represent the United States in the Thorpe Cup, a decathlon and heptathlon dual meet between the U.S. and Germany, July 29-30 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Three of Stanford's seven athletes have completed competition at the Trials, with Valarie Allman's sixth-place in the women's discus the top finish. Next are Sean McGorty and Grant Fisher, who finished second and sixth, respectively, at the NCAA Championships, in the men's 5,000-meter semifinals on Monday.
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U.S. Olympic Trials
At Hayward Field, Eugene
Men
Decathlon – 1, Ashton Eaton (Nike OTC) 8,750. 15, Harrison Williams (Stanford) 6,951.
Williams' results (place in event, mark, points):
First day
100 – 5, 10.71 (926); Long jump – 14, 23-1 1/4 (7.04m) (823); Shot put – 13, 42-10 ¼ (13.06m) (671); High jump – 10, 6-4 1/4 (1.94m) (749); 400 – 2, 46.66 (975). First-day total: 4,144.
Second day
110 hurdles – 3, 14.12 (959); Discus – 13, 128-10 (38.28m) (650); Pole vault – NH (0); Javelin – 15, 156-11 (47.83m) (557); 1,500 – 8, 4:46.29 (641). Second-day total: 2,807. Overall: 6,951.
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Schedule involving Stanford-affiliated athletes
Monday (July 4)
5:02 p.m. – Men's 5,000 first round (Grant Fisher, Sean McGorty, Garrett Heath, Chris Derrick).
Thursday (July 7)
11 a.m. – Women's shot put qualifying (Jillian Camarena-Williams).
3:30 p.m. – Women's javelin qualifying (Mackenzie Little).
4:20 p.m. – Women's 5,000 first round (Aisling Cuffe, Sara Bei Hall, Jessica Tonn).
5:58 p.m. – Women's 400 hurdles first round (Kori Carter).
6:15 p.m. – Women's shot put final.
6:26 p.m. – Women's 1,500 first round (Elise Cranny, Christina Aragon).
7:21 p.m. – Men's 1,500 first round (Michael Atchoo, Garrett Heath).
Friday (July 8)
4:12 p.m. – Men's 1,500 semifinals.
4:31 p.m. – Women's 400 hurdles semifinals.
5:03 p.m. – Women's 1,500 semifinals.
Saturday (July 9)
4 p.m. – Women's javelin final.
5:20 p.m. – Men's 5,000 final.
Sunday (July 10)
4:03 p.m. – Women's 400 hurdles final.
4:28 p.m. – Women's 5,000 final.
5 p.m. – Women's 1,500 final.
5:20 p.m. – Men's 1,500 final.