Update at 11:55 a.m. Monday: Jeneba Tarmoh withdrew from the 100-meter dash runoff leaving Allyson Felix to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, according to reports. Tarmoh will be an alternate.
Sprinters Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh will have a runoff in the 100-meter dash at 5 p.m. Monday at Hayward Field at Eugene, OR, officials announced at a packed press conference Sunday.
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Jill Geer, a spokeswoman for USA Track & Field, told dozens of reporters and photographers about 2 p.m. Sunday that NBC will televise the two-woman race as part of its coverage of the Olympic Trials in swimming—at 5 p.m. on East Coast and later in Pacific time.
The runoff was required after Nike teammates Felix and Tarmoh tied for third in the 100-meter final June 23 at the Olympic Trials—with high-speed cameras catching images of them finishing in the exact same time: 11.068 seconds.
The scheduling of the tiebreaking runoff represents a compromise between Bobby Kersee, the Nike coach who guides the two sprinters, and USATF, which had insisted until Sunday that a runoff or coin flip would happen before the end of the meet Sunday.
Kersee had been quoted as saying that he wanted his two sprinters, including two-time Olympic silver medalist Felix, to race Tuesday or Wednesday—to give them time to recover from heats of the 100 and 200 over the past week.
American record holder Tyson Gay had urged that Felix give up her potential 100-meter spot to newcomer Tarmoh as a way of showing her sportsmanship and gaining positive publicity with a feel-good story. Felix is a 200-meter specialist who has never won a major international medal in the 100-meter dash.
Fans of Glendora decathlete and Olympic champion Bryan Clay may seize on the news as an opening to allow him to qualify for London as well—since he had been told that the final decision on the London team would be made Sunday.
If he had until the July 8 deadline of the International Olympic Committee to achieve the Olympic qualifying "A" standard of 8200 points, he would be eligible to defend his 2008 Beijing title.
Clay announced several days ago that he would follow USATF rules on team selection and would forgo an appeal to let him "chase the A standard" by entering another decathlon after taking 12th a week ago at the Olympic Trials after scoring no points in the discus.
La Mesa journalist and track blogger Ken Stone and freelance photographer Chris Stone have been covering the Trials for Patch.com sites around the country.
Other Patch town athletes featured:
- Won't chase "A" standard in decathlon
- With best throw in world, has shot at London gold
- At age 30, she returns to the Games with 3rd place in 800
- Competes in her fifth Olympic Trials at age 46
- Has javelin genes, since her dad held world record
- : James Logan teammates fall short
- "Girl from Sicklerville" will focus on making 2016 Rio team
- : Her surprise 8th shows she has much more left
- She's a surprise entrant in women's 1500 final
- Food poisoning can't stop her from taking 12th in long jump final.
