EUGENE, Ore. - Former Baylor track and field sprinter Trayvon Bromell is headed to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, after placing second in the 100-meter finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field Sunday.
Bromell equaled his personal-best time of 9.84 (1.6m/s) to finish just .04 seconds behind winner Justin Gatlin (9.80) and .14 seconds ahead of the final Olympic qualifier Marvin Bracy (9.98).
The St. Petersburg, Fla, native, who competed at BU in 2014 and 2015, had the second-best reaction time (.147) and hung with Gaitlin throughout the race as those two athletes cruised to gold and silver.
Bromell advanced to the final by tallying the second-fastest time of the 21 runners in semifinal action. The New Balance professional won his heat in a time of 9.86 (2.0 m/s) with the second-fastest reaction time of anyone in the field at .143 seconds.
Meanwhile, Tiffany Townsend placed eighth in the women’s 100-meter finals. The Killeen, Texas, native, who wrapped up her BU career in 2011, started well with the third-best reaction time (.174) in the field, but was unable to hold the momentum.
Townsend just slipped into the finals with a time of 11.03 as she placed third in her semifinal heat. She was one of only two runners to advance to the final on time and did so with the eighth-fastest time overall.
WHAT’S NEXT
On Monday at the meet, Rachel Johnson will run in the first round of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 6:03 p.m. CT.
NBC, NBCSN and the NBC Sports app will have full television coverage of the meet each day.
COMPLETE BAYLOR RESULTSQ or q = qualify for finals
100 Meters
Women - Semifinal
8. Tiffany Townsend - 11.03q
Women - Final
8. Tiffany Townsend - 11.11
Men - Semifinal
2. Trayvon Bromell - 9.86Q
Men - Final
2. Trayvon Bromell - 9.84 (Olympic Qualifier)
