Micah Williams raced across the finish line, put his hands on his head in disbelief and then enthusiastically began celebrating like he had just won the Olympics.
He didn’t, but he is going.
The Oregon freshman made history and set records Sunday night with his fifth-place finish in the final of the men’s 100 meters during the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field, securing a spot in the Team USA relay pool going to Tokyo.
The race was won by Trayvon Bromell, whose resurgence this season has gotten him back to the Summer Games where he was a finalist in 2016.
Bromell finished in 9.80 seconds, followed by Ronnie Baker (9.85) and Fred Kerley (9.86).
Meet info:Results, schedules and start lists for the Olympic Trials
Justin Gatlin, who at 39 was attempting to make his fourth Olympic team, pulled up lame late in the race and jogged across the finish line clutching his hamstring.
Williams finished in 9.91, ahead of former Duck Cravon Gillespie, who was sixth in 10.0.
Williams’ time took down Gillespie’s school record of 9.93 from 2019 and made himthe fifth-fastest performer in collegiate history.
“I can’t even describe it right now,” said Williams, who is from Portland’s Benson High. “I’m in shock. I really made the USA team as a 19-year-old and I can’t even believe this is happening. I wanted to get top-three but I’m just excited to be on the team.”
Williams and Gillespie become the first Oregon men's sprinters in program history to make the U.S. Olympic team in some capacity.
There have been others who were Olympiansfor other countries, including Harry Jerome, who competed in the 100 for Canada in 1960, 1964 and 1968, and Chris Brathwaite, who competed in the 100 and 200 for Trinidad and Tobago in 1976 and 1980.
“I did surprise myself,” Williams said. “I didn’t expect it, Iwent in confident, but I didn’t know what I was going to run.”
Gillespie also secured his spot in the relay pool, though he wasn’t as thrilled about it as Williams was.
“That’s not what I’m here to do,” said a frustrated Gillespie, who is in his third summer as a professional. “I’m not here to just be a relay guy. I know I’m better than that, you know, and I left it all out there today. … My time will come for sure.”
The time is now for Bromell, whose promising career was derailed by injuries the last three years.
But he’s back running fast again and has the world-leading time of 9.77, though he didn’t need to run that fast Sunday.
“It was a heck of a race,” Bromell said. “Going in, I knew my competitors, their strengths. I had to stay humble and give every athlete in the field their respect. Coming out of the blocks I knew my legs were heavy just like everyone else. Once the race began, I told myself 'knees up.'”
Baker and Kerley both set personal records en route to making their first Olympic teams. Kerley won bronze in the 400 at the 2019 world championships.
“Much respect,” Baker said of Kerley. “Everyone thought it was crazy at first, and super cool to come down from 400 to 100. To have the confidence to drop down and make the team is pretty incredible.”
It was an emotional scene postrace for Gatlin, who was in tears as met with reporters for a virtual interview.
“It’s a very rare opportunity that you are witnessing something you are going to do for the last time while you’re doing it,” Gatlin said. “It made me sad, but it made me happy to be here and be able to do it.”
Gatlin said he initially tweaked his hamstring during his Sunday semifinal race. He’s still entered in the 200 next weekend.
“Emotions I can’t put into words,” Gatlin said. “I would like to have put out a better performance for my kids on Father’s Day, and for my father and my father's father.”
After Gatlin slowly crossed the finish line, Williams was one of the first to greet him.
“I just respect him as a sprinter so I just went up to him and gave him an embrace,” Williams said.
Former Duck Kyree King was also in the semifinals Sunday but ran 10.18 for a sixth-place finish in his heat and didn’t advance to the final.
“It was the 100 meters and this is the United States so it was a pretty stacked field, you know, it’s one of the hardest teams to make,” King said. “I feel like I could’ve done way better. Not really satisfied with how I finished and how I ran, but we’ll come back and get stronger.”
(Correction: This story initially said Williams set the world junior record in the 100.Though he is 19,he is no longer eligible for U20 world junior records because he was born in 2001)
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
