Rachel (Schneider) Smith of Sanford is scheduled to run the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Friday night in Eugene, Oregon. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
Sanford native Rachel Smith’s quest for a return to the Summer Olympics begins in earnest Friday night in Eugene, Oregon.
Smith, 32, will be racing in the second of two heats of the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at historic Hayward Field on the first day of the trials, which run through June 30.
Smith qualified for the 2021 Olympics in the 5,000 by placing third at the U.S. trials. In Tokyo, she just missed reaching the Olympic final, falling a half-second shy.
The 5,000-meter heats begin at 9:22 p.m. Smith’s primary goal is to finish in the top six of her heat. That would guarantee her a spot in Monday’s final at 10:09 p.m. Smith is seeded 10th in the event.
Smith, a Hoka-sponsored runner, is also entered in the 10,000, a finals-only event that will take place at 9:09 p.m., Saturday, June 29. She is seeded fifth in that event.
Two other Mainers are expected to participate in the trials.
Cumberland’s Victoria Bossong, a junior at Harvard, is seeded 24th in the women’s 800. She will also be competing Friday, running in the second of four heats, beginning at 7:17 p.m.
Lewiston’s Isaiah Harris is a contender for an Olympic spot in the men’s 800. Heat races are Thursday, with the semifinals June 28 and the final on June 30. Harris, 27, has the fifth-fastest seed time. He nearly made the 2021 Olympic team, finishing fourth at the trials.
Isaiah Harris of Lewiston competes in an 800-meter semifinal at the world indoor championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in March. Petr David Josek/Associated Press
Smith, who married Northern Arizona University track/cross country director Mike Smith in September of 2021, doesn’t yet have an Olympic qualifying time in either of her events, so a top-three finish wouldn’t guarantee a spot on the Olympic team. The standards are at 14 minutes, 52.0 seconds for the 5,000 and 30:40.0 for the 10,000. Smith’s entry times are 15:03.24 and 31:04.8.
Smith is unlikely to qualify for the Olympics via her world ranking after she took time off for the birth of her daughter, Nova, in April 2023, so if she does place in the top three in either event, she’d need to chase the qualifying standard after the trials, unless the races at the trials are fast enough to produce the Olympic standard.
Harris, who runs for Brooks Beasts TC, is making his third trip to Olympic trials. In 2016, as a 19-year-old Penn State freshman, he advanced to the 800 final and finished sixth.
He enters the trials knowing he has the Olympic standard of 1:44.7. His entry time is 1:44.58, just nine-tenths of a second off top seed Bryce Hoppel’s time and only .05 off Harris’ personal-best, set in 2017 when he qualified for the world championships.
In the women’s 800, the top six in each heat plus the next three fastest times will advance to the semifinals on Sunday. Bossong is in the second of four heats, which includes American record holder Athing Mu, whose best is 1:54.97. At the semifinal stage, the top two in each race plus the next three fastest advance to Monday’s final.
Bossong’s fastest time is 2:00.92. The Olympic standard is 1:59.30. Nine women are entered with times below 2:00 and another seven are below 2:00.5, which was the automatic standard for inclusion at the trials.
Last month, Bossong won the 800 title at the Philippines championships. She has been seeking dual citizenship, with the possibility of representing the Philippines at the Olympics.
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