Ex-UVa star Bridget Williams wins pole vault at Olympic trials
EUGENE, Ore. — Former UVa standout Bridget Williams is heading to the Paris Olympics.
Williams, who was known as Bridget Guy when she competed for Virginia from 2015-19, won the final of the women's pole vault Sunday on the final night of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.
She has been training at Virginia Tech as a postcollegiate athlete under Hokies pole vault coach Bob Phillips since 2020.
The top three finishers in the event earned berths in Paris. Reigning Olympic gold medalist Katie Moon was second, with Brynn King third. All three vaulted 15 feet, 6 1/4 inches. Williams won based on the number of misses.
All three have met the Olympic qualifying standard.
Williams is heading to the Olympics for the first time. She finished ninth at the 2021 trials. She won gold at the Pan American Games last year. She was a three-time All-American and two-time ACC champ at UVa.
Ex-Virginia Tech standout and current Hokies assistant Rachel Baxter tied for 11th in the pole vault final (14-6 1/4).
UVa's Shane Cohen finished sixth in the final of the men's 800 with a time of 1:44.65. Bryce Hoppel won in a meet-record 1:42.77.
Virginia Tech graduate Isaiah Rogers was 12th in the final of the men's hammer throw (230-1). Daniel Haugh won with a throw of 260-10.
Grant Fisher won the 5,000 in a meet-record 13:08.85. University of North Carolina star Parker Wolfe was third, although he is not a lock for Paris because he has not met the Olympic standard.
Shelby McEwen won the men's high jump (7-6 1/2), while Fairleigh Dickinson's Salif Mane won the men's triple jump (57-5 3/4).
Rai Benjamin won the men's 400 hurdles in a meet-record 46.46 seconds.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400 hurdles, breaking the world record with a time of 50.65.
Masai Russell won the women's 100 hurdles in 12.25 seconds, breaking a 24-year-old meet record.
Nikki Hiltz won the women's 1,500 in a meet-record 3:55.33.
Maggie Malone Hardin won the women's javelin with a meet-record throw of 211-10.
On Saturday, Virginia Tech graduate Jordan Roach finished eighth in the final of the men's discus (204-2). Andrew Evans won with a throw of 218-6.
Also Saturday, Noah Lyles had to bust it through the finish line to overtake, then beat, Kenny Bednarek in the final of the 200 meters, finishing in 19.53 seconds — the best time of the year, but a scant .06 clear of second place.
"I knew he was definitely working on something," Lyles said. "So I came off the turn and said 'OK, I'm fine. I've been here many times before. We're going to get to the last 80. He's going to fall, and I'm going to get faster.'"
It was more like the last 20 before there was any inkling that this race was wrapped up. Bednarek said he tightened up over the last few steps and couldn't push hard to the finish.
Lyles' 19.53 broke an Olympic trials record of 19.66 held by Michael Johnson since 1996. Erriyon Knighton finished third in 19.77, giving the U.S. three of this year's eight sub-19.8 runs in a single race.
This meet's other big name, Sha'Carri Richardson, slowed down in the homestretch of the women's 200 and finished fourth, depriving her a chance to race in both sprints in the Olympics. Gabby Thomas won the 200 title.
Down to her last try in the women's long jump final after two scratches, Tara Davis-Woodhall finally took off from behind the board and jumped 21 feet, 9 1/2 inches to avoid being eliminated. Earning three more tries, she jumped 22-11 3/4 on the second of those to vault from fifth to first place.
Davis-Woodhall remains undefeated this season, but this one was a nail-biter.
"It was honestly one of the scariest moments of my career," said the 25-year-old world indoor champ, who paraded around Hayward Field in her trademark cowboy hat after the win. "But I did not let that get to my head. I had to stay focused and present. And I allowed myself to embrace it, and whatever happens, happens after that."
Weini Kelati won the 10,000 meters, 10 years after seeking asylum in the United States.
Kelati traveled to Oregon as a teenager for the world junior championships and, without telling her friends or family, missed her flight back home to Eritrea to begin a new life. Taken in by a relative, Kelati went to high school in Leesburg, Virginia, and competed at the University of New Mexico.
Now, the 27-year-old has earned a trip to the Olympics. Kelati held off Parker Valby of the University of Florida by less than a half second. Karissa Schweizer, who made the team for the Tokyo Games in 2021, was third.
"I get pretty emotional every time I come here," Kelati said. "It means a lot. I've been telling them one day I'm going to go to the Olympics."
Chase Jackson threw a season-best 20.10 meters to overtake Raven Saunders, the mask-wearing Olympic silver medalist, in the shot put final.
