Rai Benjamin wins 400m hurdles in world lead time, Nikki Hiltz sets meet record in 1500m - U.S. Olympic Team Trials track & field (2024)

By Annie Fast & Nick McCarvel

Men’s 400m hurdles: Rai Benjamin mounts furious comeback

Benjamin turned it on for the final 150 metres, sitting in third place down the backstretch. He'd not only move into first, but he'd win going away, claiming the race with a 1.36 second margin to cross the finish line with a time of 46.46, breaking his own Trials record of 46.83 and setting a new world lead time.

That's faster than both Warholm (46.70) and Alison Dos Santos (46.63) this season.

CJ Allen followed with a 47.81 and Trevor Bassitt in third with 47.82.

A world leading time, a new Trials record, but for Benjamin, a “C-plus race.”

Benjamin says he was “going for it today,” but was over-amped and ended up hitting three hurdles in the backstretch and - in his words: "I had to back off and settle into this weird rhythm and then kick coming home."

Despite his critical take on his winning run, Benjamin says, "It’s there. Everything's clicking right now. Mentally, I’m there."

"Now we got to turn it up a little bit, get ready to go to another stratosphere," he said of preparing for Paris. "Because I assume it's going to be a fast race, and I want to be prepared to go to the deep end when I have to."

*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.

Nikki Hiltz surges to win in women’s 1500

Hiltz is now the back-to-back national champion after they dramatically kicked ahead of Emily MacKay and Elle St. Pierre to win the women’s 1500 in a dramatic sprint to the finish line.

In the process, Hiltz broke St. Pierre’s existing meet record set at the 2021 U.S. Trials to qualify for their first Olympic Games with a 3:55.33.

Training partners MacKay and St. Pierre went two-three, to earn their passage to Paris. This will be St. Pierre’s second Olympic Games, and she also qualified in the 5000m. Both set their personal best times today, MacKay of 3:55.90 and St. Pierre 3:55.99.

Hiltz shared how much work has gone into making this Olympic team: "I was last place at the last Olympic trials final [in 2021]. I’ve done so much work since then— so much mental work and physical work, too. But it’s just a journey.”

Hiltz was still coming to terms with their win and the future.

"A month ago [at the Prefontaine Classic] I was in 3:59 shape, now 3:55... where I'll be in a month, I don't know and I don't want to put limits on that.

"I knew I was going to have to PR to make this team, but 3:55? I haven't gotten my head around that. I haven't wrapped my head around the Olympics... there's so much catching up to do.”

Changing of the guard in women’s 100m hurdles

The women’s 100m hurdles saw a reset with a new guard advancing over seasoned Olympic medallists. Masai Russell won in resounding fashion. The look of shock on her face told the story: She crossed the finish line with a world lead time of 12.25, breaking the 24-year-old Trials record set by Gail Devers in 2000 (12.33).

Alaysha Johnson, who was first in the semi-final, took second with a personal best time of 12.31, just leaning ahead of Grace Stark, who also clocked a 12.31.

This race saw Rio 2016 silver medalist Nia Ali (4th) and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist and American record holder Keni Harrison (sixth) falling short in their respective bids to make the three-hurdler team for Paris.

Grant Fisher goes two-for-two with 5000m win on top of 10K

Grant Fisher opens Trials with a win... and ends it in the same fashion.

On the opening night of the U.S. Trials (21 June), Fisher won the 10,000m... repeating that same feat on Sunday with a triumph in the the 5,000m, where he set a new meet record of 13:08.85.

Fisher is back at his second Olympic Games, once again with the chance to compete in both events.

Fisher held off defending 5000m champ Abdihamid Nur in a dramatic sprint down the final straightaway, with Nur finishing a fraction behind Fisher at 13:09.01.

The race for third, featured Parker Wolfe and Graham Blanks battling, with Wolfe pulling ahead to finish with a personal best of 13.10.75.

A busy final day on the field

The men’s hammer throw saw Daniel Haugh out-muscling the field to take gold. Haugh was happy with his 79.51 metre (26-feet, 10-inches) on his third attempt.

Rudy Winkler (78.89) and Justin Stafford (77.07) went two-three. Winkler has the Olympic standard, but Stafford will have to wait and see whether he’s going to Paris.

In men’s high jump final, Shelby McEwen went 2.30m (7 feet, 6 inches) for the win and a berth in his second Olympic Games. The next two finishers, Caleb Snowden and Tyus Wilson, do not have the Olympic standard, but JuVaughn Harrison, who finished in fourth after not clearing 2.24m, does. Harrison earned a silver in Budapest at Worlds last year.

Other notable results included:

Bridget Williams winning the women's pole vault with a 4.73m (15 feet, 6 1/4 inches); reigning Olympic and world champion Katie Moon was second
Salif Mane won the men's triple jump with a 17.52m (57 feet, 5 3/4 inches); Christian Taylor, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion, did not qualify for the final. It is likely his final event
Maggie Malone Hardin claimed the women's javelin, throwing a 64.58m (211 feet, 10 inches)