Athletes prepared for 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field
Track Town, U.S.A. is electric this week as athletes and fans arrive in Eugene, Oregon for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field. To kick off the event, athletes Eric Holt, Athing Mu, Kyree King, Keturah Orji and Harrison Williams joined media members for a press conference ahead of competition.
Eric Holt, entered in the men’s 800-meter and 1500-meter, is feeling privileged and grateful to be running in the trials. After taking a year off, he is ready to live in the moment and compete.
Photo by Charlie Townes
“Every round you have to be on your A game, you cannot take it lightly. Anything can happen in these rounds, they can be brutal. You got to treat every round like it’s the finals,” Holt said.
The men’s 1500m qualifying round is Friday, June 21 at 5:22 pm Pacific time, and the men’s 800m qualifying round is Thursday, June 27 at 4:30 pm Pacific time.
Athing Mu, competing in the women’s 800-meter at her second Olympic team trials, feels ready to go after a hamstring injury earlier this season. Mu won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in both the 800-meter and in the women’s 4x400-meter relay, but she has not competed since September 2023.
“This is my second Olympic trials. 2021 was a going-through-the-motions year for me. It was all a new experience for me,” Mu said. “Going through the second cycle, it’s great to already know what it's like to make the team and what it's like after making the team.”
The women’s 800m qualifying round is on Friday, June 21 at 4:17 pm Pacific time.
Kyree King, an Oregon alumnus competing in the men’s 100 and 200-meter, feels prepared for the trials after placing first with his team in the 4x100-meter relay at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas last month. King is ready to run at Hayward Field again and feels the pressure as he competes for a spot on the Paris team.
“You come here and you have to be ready. If you’re not ready here, you won’t go to the Olympics. You have to be ready now and you have to be ready then,” King said. “I’m here for a purpose. Not to be in the moment, but to be the moment. I know my purpose here.”
The men’s 100m qualifying round is Saturday, June 22 at 6:22 pm Pacific time and the men’s 200m qualifying round is June 29th at 7:33 Pacific time.
Keturah Orji, competing in the women’s triple jump, is feeling hopeful about her career and the chance to make the United States team for a third and final time. She placed 7th in the 2020 Toyko Olympic Games and 4th in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. She is hoping to come out and perform better than before at one of her favorite tracks.
“I love competing at Hayward. I’ve had most of my successes here. The crowd knows the athletes and knows the sport here, and I love that,” Orji said.
The women’s triple jump qualifying round is on Friday, June 21 at 6:50 pm Pacific time.
Harrison Williams, competing in the men’s decathlon, made it clear that he is not satisfied and is far from done when it comes to his career. Williams finished 7th in the world last year and is hoping to get even further in Paris this August after his lingering hip injury.
“It was a tough physical and mental challenge to come back after my injury in 2022,” Williams said. “Team USA is the hardest to make, especially the decathlon. To make the team is a great boost of confidence.”
The men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon are competing in the mornings from June 21st through June 24th.
Retired USA Track and Field Athlete and current NBC panelist, Trey Hardee, feels ecstatic about the trials being at Hayward this year.
“I appreciate everything about this venue. Even at my lowest moments, the crowd brought me out of those moments here. It’s impossible to recreate and describe but there’s something about the magic that brings out people’s best performance here,” Hardee said.
Ready or not, these athletes along with 900 more are competing for a spot for the USA Track and Field Olympic Team starting tomorrow, June 21st. Limited tickets are still available at TrackTown24.com.