EUGENE, Ore. - Arizona Wildcats hurdler Georganne Moline made sure the eighth hurdle was no obstacle Sunday, and earned an Olympic berth in the process.
The UA senior-to-be finished second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.33 seconds in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials at Hayward Field. She set a personal best and broke the school record for the fourth time this year en route to finishing behind Lashinda Demus (53.98). T'Erea Brown (54.81) took third to earn the final Olympic berth.
Moline is one of three Wildcats who will compete in London. She joins U.S. high jumper Brigetta Barrett and Canadian shot putter Julie Labonté.
Sunday's race helped Moline forget the disappointment of stumbling over the eighth hurdle in last month's NCAA championships. Her time was the fourth-best in Pac-12 history and ranks as the fifth-best in the world this year.
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"It went perfect," Moline said in a press release. "I couldn't have asked for a better race. I went out, just like I planned, attacking each hurdle and when I get to the 200-meter mark, that's when I have to go. I made my move and just kept strong.
"Everybody asks me if I'm afraid of the eighth hurdle, because that's the hurdle I fell on. If anything, that's the hurdle I want to kill, there's no way I'm afraid of that thing. It was so exciting and definitely a great race. I know how to run my race, I've run it plenty of times, and I really trust what I do."
Former UA All-American Brianna Glenn finished fifth in the long jump Sunday. The 32-year-old's best jump of the day was 22-5 3/4.
In the men's 200 Sunday, Wallace Spearmon got off to a slow start, but recovered in time to win in 19.82.
His victory - and his chance for redemption at the London Games after losing the bronze medal to disqualification in Beijing - was an expected finish to what should have been the conclusion to the trials.
Instead, Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh will run this afternoon to settle a third-place tie in the 100 for the final spot on the team.
Felix and Tarmoh finished in a dead heat for third in the 100 more than a week ago behind winner Carmelita Jeter and Tianna Madison, putting the team for the event in limbo. Track officials had no policy in place to resolve it but the next day devised a tiebreaker that included the options of a runoff or a coin flip.
The decision was put off eight days to allow Felix and Tarmoh to focus on the 200, which Felix handily won Saturday night. Tarmoh finished fifth.
On Sunday morning the athletes got together with track officials and decided on a runoff today.
Includes material from a news release
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