EUGENE, Ore. — Addy Wiley is aiming for her first Olympic Games, Kara Winger for her fifth.
Both took steps toward that Friday at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Wiley, of Huntington, finished fifth in a semifinal of the 1,500 meters, advancing to Sunday’s final. Top three make the U.S. team.
In the first of two semifinals, Nikki Hiltz finished first in 4:01.40, followed by Sinclaire Johnson, 4:01.68, Heather McLean, 4:02.09 and Cory McGee, 4:02.09. Elle St. Pierre, winner of the trials 5,000 and world indoor champion at 3,000, was fifth in 4:02.14.
Emily Mackay won the second semifinal in 4:02.46. Next were Elise Cranny, 4:02.56; Helen Schlachtenhaufen, 4:02.68; Maggi Congdon, 4:02.79, and Wiley, 4:02.92.
Congdon, 21, of Northern Arizona, and Wiley, 20, are the only finalists younger than 26.
Wiley took the lead to begin the last lap and needed only to be in the top five to advance. This was her fourth race of the trials, having run two rounds of the 800 before elimination.
“I’m used to a lot of rounds,” she said. “In NAIA, we did a lot of rounds, especially my one indoor nationals. So it’s nothing new. It’s a different level. I’m adjusting well.”
Wiley won both 800 and 1,600 at 2022 and 2023 state meets for Huntington North, then set a national record of 4:26.16 in the 1,600 on June 11, 2022, at Allendale, Mich.
She de-committed from Colorado and enrolled at hometown Huntington University, where she won eight NAIA titles in 2023. She also set a collegiate record of 3:59.17 in the 1,500 last Sept. 8 at Brussels, Belgium.
Wiley and Mary Decker Slaney are the only Americans to run sub-1:58 at 800 and sub-4:00 at 1,500 in a career.
In January, Wiley announced she would forgo collegiate eligibility and a signed pro contract with adidas.
Winger, 38, the former Purdue javelin thrower, is in her sixth Olympic Trials. She came out of retirement this month and led qualifying Friday with a distance of 206 feet, 8 inches.
She needs the standard of 210 feet (64 meters) for the Paris Olympics because she lacks any world ranking points. In 2022, what she thought was her last season, she won a silver medal here at the World Championships on her last throw and later set an American record.
“Every single throw matters. Every single throw could be 64 meters,” Winger said. “And I know I have it in me.”
Eliminated in semifinals were Pike High graduate Lynna Irby-Jackson, seventh in a heat of the 200 in 22.85; Indiana University’s Camden Marshall, seventh in a heat of the 800 in 1:48.95; Purdue’s Cameron Miller, seventh in a heat of the 200 in 20.68.
Racing in semifinals of the 400 hurdles Saturday will be Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Spencer (Lawrence North) and Ohio State’s Chanler Robinson (North Central).
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.