U.S. Olympic Track Trials Schedule

Day-by-day featured events at the U.S. track trials:

* DAY 2: Today--The 100-meter finals. Marion Jones and Inger Miller duke it out for first place in the women’s field, with defending Olympic champion Gail Devers; USC’s two-time NCAA champion, Angela Williams; and Chryste Gaines scrambling for the final berth. World-record holder Maurice Greene failed to reach the semifinals at the 1996 Olympic trials and figures to atone for that here. Among Greene’s top challengers, only Coby Miller has run sub-10 seconds in 2000.

* DAY 3: Sunday--Barring a dropped baton in Sydney, Jones’ drive for five will hinge on just how far she can jump. And to get that opportunity, she first needs to place in the top three in the women’s long jump final at the trials. A lock? Not quite, not with defending U.S. champion Dawn Burrell and Shana Williams in the mix, along with a comeback attempt by four-time Olympian and American record-holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

* DAY 4: Monday--Seilala Sua, UCLA’s four-time NCAA women’s discus champion, ended 1999 ranked sixth in the world, with sights set higher for this September. Owner of nine of the top 10 U.S. throws in 1999, Sua is favored to add a U.S. Olympic trials championship to her portfolio.

* DAY 5: Thursday--Dan O’Brien’s last stand begins here, the first day of the decathlon. Since winning the Olympic gold medal in 1996, O’Brien has spent much time on the sideline, most recently rehabilitating a surgically repaired knee. He figures to qualify, but, at 34, he enters this event as an underdog. Chris Huffins, the 1999 world bronze medalist, is four years younger and equipped with two strong knees.

* DAY 6: Friday--Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie should win the men’s Olympic 5,000-meter gold medal, followed by a legion of Kenyans. At the U.S. Olympic trials, American distance runners are merely sorting out who will fill out the field in Sydney. Three-time U.S. champion Bob Kennedy remains the best America has to offer, although he should be pressed by Marc Davis, Matt Giusto and Adam Goucher.

* DAY 7: Saturday, July 22--The men’s 400-meter hurdles title looks like a free-for-all. Derrick Adkins and Calvin Davis won the Olympic gold and bronze medals, respectively, in 1996; Joey Woody reached the finals of the 1999 world championships; Angelo Taylor ended 1999 ranked No. 2 in the world; and Eric Thomas is the current world leader at 47.94 seconds. For this reason, NCAA champion Felix Sanchez of USC played the dual-citizenship card and opted to run instead for the Dominican Republic.

* DAY 8: Sunday, July 23--Finally, the 200-meter showdown between world-record holder Michael Johnson and 1999 world champion Maurice Greene. On the women’s side, another run-off between Jones and Miller for the 200-meter title. And in the women’s pole vault, Stacy Dragila figures to qualify as the top American in this new Olympic event.