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The list of athletes with ties to the Oregon Ducks heading to the Tokyo Olympics grew on Sunday night.
With the final day of the Olympic Trials coming to a close, a trio of Eugene legends secured their spot on the team, with Raevyn Rogers, Cole Hocker, and Matthew Centrowitz all giving fans a show at the new Hayward Field.
The night started out for the Ducks with Rogers gritting it down the back stretch of the 800m final, finishing second behind 19-year-old phenom, Athing Mu, who ran a world-leading 1:56.07. Rogers time of 1:57.66 was good enough to guarantee her a spot on her second Olympic team.
The biggest fireworks of the night came in the men’s 1,500m final, when Centrowitz and Hocker battled down the stretch and provided a thrilling ending. Centrowitz led going into the final 200 meters, but Hocker mounted a huge kick and crossed the line in 3:35.28 to take first place and win the final. Centrowitz crossed in 3:36.34 to take second place and earn a trip to defend his title at the Olympics.
Cole Hocker said byeeeeeeeepic.twitter.com/J4N2GfrlPn
— Travis Miller (@TravisMillerFlo) June 28, 2021
Technically, Hocker does not have the Olympic standard time of 3:35.00, but his world ranking is high enough to qualify him for the games in Tokyo.
UPDATE: Cole Hocker is extremely likely to qualify via his world ranking. His ranking is now the highest among non-standard athletes (1,232pts) https://t.co/QikzYDKsfM
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 28, 2021
Unfortunately, the Olympic dreams for long-jumper Demarcus Simpson, Colby Alexander, Sam Prakel, and Kyree King ended on Sunday night, as they failed to finish in the top 3 of their respective events.
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