Isaiah Harris only needed to finish in the top six of his 800-meter heat Thursday at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials to advance to Friday’s semifinal round in Eugene, Oregon. The Lewiston native did that with ease, posting the second-fastest time among all qualifiers.
Harris started in Lane 7 in the nine-person heat, and by the 100-meter mark he was in fourth place. He was up to second after 200 meters, then settled back into third. With 200 meters to go, he was back up to second, behind Penn State’s Darius Smallwood.
Harris, who competed for Penn State before turning pro, surged to the front in the closing stretch, then slowed down and was edged at the line by Texas A&M’s Sam Whitmarsh, with Whitmarsh finishing in 1 minute, 46.13 seconds, to Harris’s 1:46.14. Those were the two fastest times among the four heat races.
The semifinals are scheduled for 9:39 p.m. Friday.
Harris already has achieved the Olympic qualifying standard of 1:44.70, so a top-three finish in Sunday’s final would send him to the Paris Games. First, he must get through the semifinals by finishing either first or second in his race, or by recording one of the next three fastest times among all three semifinals.
Harris finished fourth at the U.S. trials three years ago and missed out on making the team for the Tokyo Olympics by one position.
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