Ohio seems to breed 800-meter runners with a big kick. The tactic carried Dave Wottle, from Bowling Green University, to an Olympic gold medal in 1972. Tonight on day four of the 2016 U.S. Olympic track trials, Akron University’s Clayton Murphy followed the same script to win the 800 in 1:44.76.
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Murphy, 21, was eighth among nine starters at the 400, and still lagged in fifth with 200 meters to go. That was just fine with him. “I like to let everyone else go out fast,” he said. “That just means they’re more likely to run themselves out and be easier for me to catch.”
A month ago in Eugene, Murphy rode his big finish to victory in the NCAA 1500 meters. Shortly thereafter, he decided to turn pro, signing with Nike. (He had just finished his junior year at the University of Akron.)
All spring, he and his coach had been wrestling with the which-race-should-he-focus-on question. “It’s been quite a roller coaster this last month,” he said, “but my goals were an NCAA win and a spot on the Olympic team. I crossed those off, so I’d have to say things worked out pretty well.”
Fiona OKeeffe Is on the Road to Recovery Nutrition - Weight Loss. Nike sued him, alleging that Berian had reneged on a contract by signing with New Balance. The dispute was resolved in Berian’s and New Balance’s favor less than a week before the trials, when Nike dropped the suit.
Somehow Berian maintained his concentration on the big picture: the Olympic trials. “My teammates at the Big Bear Track Club helped me stay focused on my running,” he said. “They had a very positive effect. They kept me from going crazy with the other stuff.”
As is his custom, Berian, 23, led through the first lap, covered in 50.60. “I didn’t want to mess around,” he said. “I had to get out front. That’s where I run the best.”
Near the 600 mark, he faced an unexpected challenge when precocious Isaiah Harris roared into second place. A gentle giant (6-foot-2, 185 pounds), Harris was still competing in Maine high school meets a year ago. He won the state 200 title twice, and the 800 title three times, with a best of 1:49.63. Moving onto Boris Berian’s shoulder, he couldn’t suppress a bit of giddiness.
“I was feeling really good, and I started thinking about Rio,” he said. “It’s everyone’s dream, and there I was right behind Boris.” He faded over the final 400 to place sixth in 1:46.47, not as fast as his fourth place NCAA time, 1:45.76. But it was still a very big year for a rising sophomore at Penn State.
Murphy moved strongly around the final curve, while Berian protected his position in the top three. “I knew Clayton was strong,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure only one runner got past me. It’s hard to imagine that I’m actually on an Olympic team. I don’t have the words.”
Nutrition - Weight Loss Best Running Shoes 2025. He says he never gave up on his running, but things got grim. “It was a low point for sure,” he said. “I was training alone, coaching myself. It took a lot of discipline.”
Eventually, a new manager championed his cause, and last summer he ran 1:43.34. In March of this year, he won the world indoor championships in his event.
Third-place finisher Charles Jock came from even farther back than Murphy over the last 200 meters. Born in Ethiopia, his family caught in war and famine when he was just 2, he doesn’t actually remember the family’s struggles and long journey to the U.S. But he has heard the tales.
“My parents have told me it was very bad,” said Jock, 26. “They had to sacrifice a lot to give a better life to my siblings [eight of them] and me.”
Jock also had to deal with the heartbreak of an eighth-place finish in the 2012 trials and many injuries since then. “The 2012 trials hurt a lot,” he said. “It took me a long time to get over it. But I always felt I had the talent to make the Olympics, and this year I came into the trials fresher than most of the others.” It showed with his strong sprint into third-place in the finishing straight.
Murphy grew up in New Paris, Ohio, population about 500 on a good day. His high school class numbered 60, including the six runners on his cross-country team. He and his family live on a 50-acre farm.
“They’re all having a Fourth of July cookout outside with a big TV set up while they watch the trials,” he said. “As we were getting ready for the race, I was thinking about how nice it would be to be floating down an Ohio river in a tube with them. But then I told myself, ‘Hey, this is the Olympic trials. That’s pretty special.’
“Now I’ve got one big meet to go,” he continued. “My goal is to make the final in Rio, and then see what happens.” He’s also qualified to run in the trials 1500, which begins on Thursday. He said he and his coach will discuss the pros and cons in the next several days.
With a best 1500-meter time of 3:36.23, Murphy sits 0.03 seconds outside the Olympic qualifying standard. The Olympic trials are generally not considered a good place to achieve personal bests in the middle distances.
At the 2012 London Olympics, the top American 800 men finished fourth (Duane Solomon) and fifth (Nick Symmonds). That race was won by Kenya’s David Rudisha in a world record 1:40.92. The last American male to medal in an Olympic 800 was Johnny Gray (silver, 1992). The last winner was Dave Wottle (gold, 1972).
Tonight, Wottle presented the trials medals to Murphy, Berian, and Jock. It was the first time he and Murphy had met—“a great, great honor for me,” Murphy said.
A Part of Hearst Digital Media: A day after premeet favorites Duane Solomon and Donavan Brazier crashed out of the 800-meter competition in the first round, Saturday’s semifinal went as planned—but not without some late drama.
World indoor 800-meter champion Boris Berian won the first heat in 1:45.72 to qualify for Monday’s final, where he’ll be joined by fellow favorites Clayton Murphy, Erik Sowinski, and Casimir Loxsom.
The semifinal's only fireworks came in heat 2, where University of Mississippi runner Craig Engels appeared to be in an automatic-qualifying position until tangling legs with Shaquille Walker on the home straightaway and slipping to sixth.
“I feel like I could have made it,” Engels said after the race. “Hopefully I can run that final."
An hour later, USATF confirmed that Engels would be added as a ninth competitor in Monday's final. Walker did not get disqualified for the collision, but his fourth-place finish wasn't good enough to advance.
In addition to Berian, Murphy, Sowinski, Loxsom, Engels, four other men are in the nine-man final: Isaiah Harris, Harun Abda, Brandon Johnson, and Charles Jock.
Kenya, 1:40.91 2012.
Major Changes Hit Northern Arizona Elite: After the first round of the men’s 800 meters, most of the favorites advanced. Boris Berian, who was officially signed by New Balance this week after Two years ago Berian had left Adams State University, and against him last week, won his heat in 1:46.03, the fastest time of the day. Also advancing out of that heat was Erik Sowinski, the indoor world championships silver medalist. Casimir Loxsom, the indoor 600-meter American record holder, moved on to the semifinal as did Charles Jock of the Oregon Track Club.
The surprises: Donavan Brazier, a heralded 19-year-old who set an NCAA 800-meter record in early June and turned pro after his freshman year at Texas A&M, failed to advance. So did Duane Solomon, who made the U.S. Olympic team in this event in 2012 and finished fourth in London.
“I should have gone out faster, if I could change anything that’s what I would have done,” Brazier said after the race. “I am tired. I have had a long season.”
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Olympic qualifying standard will make Team USA, headed to compete in August at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
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Below is a preview of the men’s 800-meter race, originally published in June. To see all of our event previews, go here.
TV: was working at a McDonalds
World Record: David Rudisha (Kenya), 1:40.91 (2012)
American Record: Johnny Gray, 1:42.60 (1985)
Olympic Trials Record: Johnny Gray, 1:42.80 (1992)
Nike dropped its breach-of-contract lawsuit: 1:46
Nike dropped its breach-of-contract lawsuit: 1:46
Fiona OKeeffe Is on the Road to Recovery: Want to find an event whose top athletes are involved in controversy? Welcome to the men’s 800 meters.
Among the contenders, Boris Berian, 23, the 2016 world indoor 800-meter champion, is a logical pick to make the team. He was involved in a contract dispute with Nike and up until the lawsuit was dropped a week before the Trials, he was unsure if he'dnrace. Nick Symmonds, 32, has proven his expertise at competing through the rounds at high-stakes competitions, so we wouldn’t count him out—he is, after all, a two-time Olympian and six-time national champion with a 1:42.95 personal best. Symmonds gave up his place on the 2015 world outdoor championships team after he decided not to sign the athlete agreement that required runners to wear official Nike-branded gear to all officials functions.
Watch out for a couple of NCAA athletes. Clayton Murphy, 21, who competes for the University of Akron and took Symmonds’ place on the world team, and Donavan Brazier, a freshman at Texas A&M, have been impressive—and in recent weeks have turned pro. Brazier's time of 1:43.55 at the NCAA outdoor championships broke Jim Ryun's record of 1:44.3, set in 1966.
Erik Sowinski also shows much promise with a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2016 world indoor championships and a 1:44.58 personal best. Casimir Loxsom finished third at the 2015 national championships and went on to compete at the world championships in August, where he did not advance to the semi-finals.
