Justin Gatlin celebrates with his son Jace after winning the men's 100 finals at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)
Justin Gatlin flew out of the blocks and ran a personal best 9.80 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, the second fastest 100 metre time in the world this year.
Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion who subsquently served a four-year ban for a steroid offence, won the race over Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey.
Gay ran 9.86 in just his second major race in a year due to a nagging hip injury that required major surgery. He hold the American record, a 9.69 time that has only been surpassed by one man in the world, Usain Bolt.
Bailey, 23, qualifies for his first Olympics. He edged 2009 U.S. champion Mike Rodgers, savvy veteran Doc Patton and Walter Dix, a double Olympic bronze medallist in Beijing. Dix pulled up in the semifinals with a left hamstring injury and wasn't the same in the final.
Sanya Richards-Ross set a meet record in the 400 metres, finishing in 49.28 seconds for a spot on the Olympic team.
Richards-Ross overtook Francena McCorory, who started strongly but had to hold on for the third at 50.43 seconds, jer first Olympic berth. DeeDee Trotter was second in 50.02, also qualifying for her third Olympics.
Richards-Ross qualifies for third consecutive Olympics. The most consistent athlete in the world at the distance, she had to settle for bronze at the 2008 Olympics after fading down the stretch.
She also plans to run in the 200 in the trials next week for a shot at a double in the London Games.
Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt ran men's 400 in 44.12 seconds, best in the world this season, for a chance to defend his title in London.
Tony McQuay, winner at the NCAA championships earlier this month, was second in 44.49, and Bryshon Nellum of Southern California was third in 44.80 to earn the other two spots on the Olympic team.
Jeremy Wariner , the 2004 Olympic gold medalist before winning the silver in Beijing, finished sixth in 45.24, missing out on his chance to make a third Olympic team.
Hoffa, Suhr, Holliday win
Reese Hoffa won the men's shot put at the U.S. track trials with a mark of 72 feet, 2 ¼ inches to earn a spot on the Olympic team.
Ryan Whiting was second at 71-0 ¾, and Christian Cantwell was third at 69-9 ¾. Cantwell is the won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympics.
Hoffa also won the 2008 Olympic trials, but finished seventh in Beijing.
Adam Nelson did not make the cut to Sunday's shot put final at Hayward Field. Nelson, 36, won the silver at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.
Jenn Suhr cleared 15 feet, 1 inch to win the women’s pole vault in the U.S. track trials for a return trip to the Olympics.
Becky Holliday finished second Sunday after clearing 14-11, and Lacy Janson earned a spot on the U.S. team with a third-place finish at 14-9. All three women met the Olympic standard needed to compete in London.
Suhr, the 2008 Olympic trials champion, won the silver medal in Beijing, finishing behind Russian world-record holder Yelena Isinbayeva.
Suhr holds the American record in the pole vault, but last year she struggled with fatigue and was diagnosed with Celiac disease.
Stephanie Brown Trafton won the discus with a throw of 213 feet, 10 inches for a chance to defend her Olympic gold medal in London.
Aretha Thurmond was second at 204-2 for a spot on her fourth Olympic team.
American record-holder Suzy Powell-Roos finished third in the event at Hayward Field on Sunday with a throw of 197-6, but she doesn't have the Olympic "A" standard of 203-5 required to make the team.
The third spot on the U.S. team went to fifth-place finisher Gia Lewis-Smallwood, who has met the standard this season. Her best throw Sunday was 192-10.
Marquise Goodwin won long jump with a personal-best of 27 feet, 4 inches on his final attempt, putting him on the Olympic team.
Will Claye was second at 27-0 ,and George Kitchens Jr. was third at 26-11 1/4, just making the Olympic "A" standard needed to qualify for the London Games.
Goodwin, a senior wide receiver at Texas, won his second straight NCAA title in the long jump earlier this month with a leap of 27 feet.
The field in Sunday's event at Hayward Field was missing Olympian Dwight Philips, who wasn't able to compete because of injury.
With files from CBCSports.ca
