Track trials toughen up a tough lot

EUGENE, Ore. -- Jenn Stuczynski made an American-record leap.

Marshevet Hooker made a leap of faith.

Muna Lee and Walter Dix made the U.S. Olympic team in both sprints, surprisingly alone in that distinction.

And Alan Webb made haste in leaving Hayward Field after his fifth-place finish in the 1,500, leaving to wonder why, despite being a three-time U.S. champion at that distance and American-record holder in the mile, he might never find validation at the Olympics.

The final events that determined the team the U.S. will send to Beijing were full of emotional and competitive extremes.

This will be a good team that will win a lot of medals in areas in which U.S. teams traditionally clean up, notably the sprints, 400 and hurdles. The Jamaican women will challenge their U.S. counterparts in the sprints, but if Tyson Gay recovers from his muscle strain and can be effective in the 100 and in the 400-meter relay, the U.S. medal count should swell.

One of the best U.S. bets is pole vaulter Stuczynski, who set the crowd abuzz when she missed her first two jumps but found her stride in time to improve her U.S. record to 16 feet 1 3/4 inches. She will vie with Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva for gold and the world record, which Isinbayeva holds at 16-5 1/4 .

Stuczynski passed until the bar was set at 15-1, a calculated gamble that almost backfired. “I was getting a little anxious,” she said.

She took two attempts that missed badly. One more would have kept her off the Beijing team. With everything on the line, she calmed her nerves and sailed over the bar on her third try.

“You make it, you make it. You don’t, you deal with it,” she said of the philosophy that allowed her to relax and find her form.

If the pressure sat easily on her shoulders, it weighed others down. This will be a battle-tested team, with the sighs of relief, bandages, bruises and limps to prove it.

Gay’s crash in the 200 quarterfinals Saturday persuaded Torri Edwards -- already on the team in the 100 -- to give up her spot in Lane 1 of the women’s 200 final Sunday. Xavier Carter, last in the men’s 100 final, withdrew from the 200 final Sunday because of a sore ankle, giving up his individual event hopes.

Michelle Perry, twice the women’s outdoor 100-meter hurdles champion, made it through the quarterfinals Saturday with her left thigh heavily taped. She removed the tape for her semifinal Sunday but managed only a tearful sixth-place finish.

Those hampered by minor injuries or nearly recovered from past mishaps knew they were lucky.

“It’s definitely a ring-around-the-rosy game you play mentally and physically,” said Dix, the Florida State graduate who was hampered by a hamstring problem most of this season.

“Running both events takes a lot out of your legs. I’m glad I was able to come out and successfully make both teams.”

Lee, who trained in L.A. for two years but left for College Station, Texas, last year, survived a truck crash last month and eight rounds of races here. Her legs held up, but words failed her after she crossed the line behind Felix.

“It means a lot,” she said of earning two Olympic spots. “I had a tough year and my comeback was really good. I’m just really happy. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

Lolo Jones, commanding in every round of the women’s 100-meter hurdles, rode a powerful tailwind to outdistance Damu Cherry and UCLA alumna Dawn Harper and win in 12.29 seconds. At the post-race news conference, Athens Olympic champion Joanna Hayes of L.A., bothered by knee tendinitis and limited to a seventh-place finish, grabbed the microphone.

“Do any of you have the intent to finish 1-2-3 at the Olympics?” she asked. The response was a chorus of yeses and expressions of respect for Hayes, still a champion in spirit if not in placement.

For every easy victory, like Jones’ or David Oliver’s triumph over Terrence Trammell in the men’s 100-meter hurdles, there were as many nailbiters.

Dix, runner-up to Gay in the 100 last week, won the 200 Sunday by the length of his toes, edging out Shawn Crawford for first though both were timed in 19.86 seconds. Wallace Spearmon was third in 19.90.

In the women’s 200, Los Angeles’ Allyson Felix won easily in 21.82 seconds over Lee, winner of the 100 and Felix’s former training partner.

“I’m relieved, but it’s not done yet, hardly,” Felix said.

The drama came from Hooker, who made a last-gasp plunge to edge out Lauryn Williams, 22.20 seconds to 22.21. That returned the disfavor Williams had done in edging Hooker out of the last berth in the 100 last week, 10.894 seconds to 10.897.

“I believe it was a fall,” Hooker said of her dive, not sounding entirely convinced. “I knew I had to keep my momentum going forward. I just pushed forward and waited for the result.”

Williams, as good-natured and exuberant as she is powerfully fast, said she and Hooker were now even -- and that she holds no grudges.

“I think it’s an excellent team,” Williams said. “I have no doubts about the talent of the three people in front of me.”

The U.S. team is replete with talent and toughness, equal parts physical and mental, sharpened at these trials.

“If you can win here,” Crawford said, “you definitely can go to the Olympic Games and win.”

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. --

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Highlights of the U.S. track and field trials

Surprises

* LaShawn Merritt beat world champion Jeremy Wariner in the 400.

* Walter Dix, runner-up in the 100, won the 200 by half the length of his foot over Athens 200-meter gold medalist Shawn Crawford.

* Tyson Gay’s wind-aided 9.68 in the 100 and his crash in the 200.

* Great finishes in the women’s 5,000 and 10,000.

* Jordan Hasay set a high school record in the semifinals of the women’s 1,500.

* Bernard Lagat won the men’s 1,500 and 5,000.

As expected

* Allyson Felix won the 200, her signature race. She couldn’t start well enough to win a spot in the 100.

* The crowds at Hayward Field were wonderful. Bring the trials back here in 2012! Oh, wait, that has already been arranged.

* The men’s 400-meter hurdlers were exceptional, with Bershawn Jackson, Kerron Clement and Angelo Taylor poised for a Beijing sweep.

* Jenn Stuczynski won the pole vault with an American-record jump of 16 feet 1 3/4 inches. She should battle Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva for gold -- and a world record.

* Reese Hoffa, Christian Cantwell and Adam Nelson went 1-2-3 in the shotput. One or more of them could win a medal in Beijing.

What’s next

* Gay must take care of the muscle strain that drove him out of the 200 and be sure it doesn’t get worse.

* Men’s coach Bubba Thornton and women’s coach Jeanette Bolden must weigh their options for the relays. Many runners plan to compete in Europe the next few weeks; the coaches will observe candidates to get an idea of who will fit in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays.

* Alan Webb, fifth in the 1,500, must wait another four years for a chance at an Olympic medal.

-- Helene Elliott