Barringer sets American Record in Steeplechase

Jenny Barringer lowered her own American record in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase, the first time the event has been contested on the Olympic stage. Running a stride ahead of teammate Anna Willard (Ann Arbor, Mich.) for most of the race, Barringer finished in 9:22.26 to break her own AR of 9:22.70, set July 20 in Heusden, Belgium. Willard was 10th in 9:25.63.

BEIJING (USATF Press Release) - A Jamaican juggernaut and some challenging qualifying rounds made for a rough Sunday night for Team USA at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium. But Jenny Barringer broke the American record in the steeplechase, and key favorites Sanya Richards and Lolo Jones advanced successfully through their rounds to offer future medal hopes.

Jamaican sweep

With three athletes each from the United States and Jamaica in the final of the women's 100, it was the Caribbean nation that came out with a sweep, the first time any country has accomplished the feat in the women's sprint.

Shelly-Ann Fraser ran away from the field to win in 10.78, with Sherone Simpson second in 10.98 and Kerron Stewart third in the same time. Although there appeared to be a headwind most of the night, the official wind reading was 0.0, and Fraser's time was the second-fastest ever at the Olympics, behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.62. America's top big-meet performer, 2004 silver medalist Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.), nearly snuck in for third but ended fourth in 11.03, with Olympic Trials champion Muna Lee (College Station, Texas) fifth in 11.07. 2003 world champion Torri Edwards (Irvine, Calif.) finished eighth in 11.20, having thought she false started and never being able to recover from her initial hesitation.

In the semifinals earlier in the night, Lee and Williams had gone 2-3 in heat 1, in 11.06 and 11.10, respectively, while Edwards was second in heat 2 in 11.18.

Barringer AR

Jenny Barringer (Boulder, Colo.) lowered her own American record in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, the first time the event has been contested on the Olympic stage. Running a stride ahead of teammate Anna Willard (Ann Arbor, Mich.) for most of the race, Barringer finished in 9:22.26 to break her own AR of 9:22.70, set July 20 in Heusden, Belgium. Willard was 10th in 9:25.63 in a race won in world-record time by Gulnara Galkina-Samitova. The Russian lowered her own WR, becoming the first woman to break 9 minutes with her winning time of 8:58.81. Eunice Jepkorir of Kenya was second in 9:07.41, with Ekaterina Vokova of Russia third in 9:07.64.

The other distance event of the night, the men's 10,000m final, saw the Olympic record fell at the hands of world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, while Galen Rupp (Portland, Ore.) was the top-finishing American. The 2004 gold medalist, Bekele sprinted away from countryman Sileshi Sihine and Micah Kogo of Kenya to break his own Olympic record of 27:05.10. Sunday night, he crossed the line in 27:01.17, followed by Sihine in 27:02.77 and Kogo third in 27:04.11. Running through the early laps in 25th, Rupp moved up to 13th in 27:36.99. Olympic Trials champion Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) was 15th in 27:52.53 and Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.) was 25th in 28:13.93.

Richards moves to finals

Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas) had the fastest time of Sunday's three-heat semifinals in the women's 400, winning heat two in a brisk 49.90 seconds. Running with an aggravated left knee injury, Dee Dee Trotter was seventh in heat 3 in 51.87 and Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) was fifth in the first semi in 51.13 as neither advanced.

Men's 1,500 casualties

The men's 1,500m semifinal saw another world champion miss the final by one spot. With the top 5 finishers in each of two heats, plus the next two fastest times advancing to the final, 2007 world champ Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) missed the cut by just .02 seconds. Lagat placed sixth in heat 2 in 3:37.79, with the last runner in making it at 3:37.77. Lagat had moved from 10th to 6th on the final lap, but it wasn't enough.

Delegation flagbearer Lopez Lomong (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Olympic Trials runner-up Leonel Manzano (Austin, Texas) also saw their Olympic journey end in the semifinals. Lomong was 12th in the first semi in 3:41.00, a time identical to what he ran to finish third make the Olympic Team at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, while Manzano was 12th in the second heat in 3:50.33.

Jones, Ross-Williams make semis

In the opening, quarterfinal round of the women's 100m hurdles, World Indoor champion Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, La.) won heat 4 in 12.71, Dawn Harper (Los Angeles) was second in heat 5 in 12.73, and Damu Cherry (Winter Garden, Fla.) was third in heat 2 in 12.92 to advance to Monday's semifinals.

In the women's 400 hurdles, Olympic Trials champion Tiffany Ross Williams (Kissimmee, Fla.) won heat 1 in 55.51 to automatically advance to Monday's semifinal round. Queen Harrison (Mechanicsville, Va.) was fourth in heat 3 in 56.12, and Sheena Johnson Tosta (Chula Vista, Calif.) was fifth in the second heat in 56.12 to qualify on time.

The men's high jump failed to produce a finalist for Team USA. Andra Manson (Austin, Texas) cleared a height that would have made the final, 2.25m/7-4.25, but he had misses at 2.15m/7-0.5 and 2.20m/7-2.5, and those misses kept him from the final, finishing one place out of the qualifying at 13th. Jesse Williams (Eugene, Ore.) cleared 2.25 on his third attempt but also had too many misses, and Dusty Jonas had a top clearance of 2.20m.

For more information on Team USA at the Olympic Games, including athlete quotes, event schedule, TV schedule and complete results, visit www.usatf.org

Day 3 Team USA Quotes - evening session

Women's 100m final

Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.): "It was incredibly close. The only thing I could say about the photo finish was 'oh-oh, not again.' I thought the photo was between me and Sherone for third, but it wasn't. I put what I had on the line today. I'm not upset. 10.78 was a great time."

Muna Lee (College Station, Texas): "We'll bounce back." ON THINKING EDWARDS FALSE STARTED: "That was my fault. I should have gotten out of the blocks."

"I'm just going to focus on my next race and don't worry about this one. I feel so great. I thought one of us would be in the mix. It was a fine tune-up for my 200."

Torri Edwards (Irvine, Calif.): "I thought I moved before the gun. I kind of hesitated because I expected to hear a second gun. It threw me off a lot. It's pretty tough."

Women's 3,000m steeplechase final

Jenny Barringer (Boulder, Colo.): "I just placed ninth in the, I almost said NCAA Finals, in the Olympic final! When I saw the AR next to my name, it hit me."

I'm looking forward to being a normal college student for a semester."

Anna Willard (Ann Arbor, Mich.): "I felt good. I had trouble closing the gap between the girl in front of me. I had a pretty good kick that last lap. I just couldn't turn to the next gear. I'm disappointed, but all in all it has been a good season."

Women's 400m semifinals

Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas): "I felt really great on my race. I felt strong afterwards. I'm happy to be in the finals. I'm in great shape. I'm close to running a 48, I'm prepared to do that. The stadium is incredible."

Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati, Ohio): "Yes and No, I'm disappointed. I tried to make it to the final but it didn't happen that way. I can't be too disappointed. I've had a great year and the year isn't over yet. I don't know what happened today. I went out there and gave it my all. My plan is to be on the relay."

Dee Dee Trotter (Knoxville, Tenn.): "It's been a tough few days. Right up until Tuesday my knee was fine. Come Tuesday, my knee started going downhill. I was competing with a swollen knee right now. Today's race I gave it my all. I'm not disappointed. If it was any year that I wasn't going to be here, this was it."

Men's 1,500m semifinals

Lopez Lomong (Colorado Springs, Colo.): It was great. I had a great experience. I came all the way here to represent my country with pride. What a great experience to be able to come out and put these great colors on my chest. I'm going to carry these memories for a very long time. What a great Olympics.

Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.): "It was so close going into today. I had my strategy going in but things didn't fall into place. There was a lot of pushing, a lot of boxing. I thought I had to dig deep to get in. I didn't make it, though. Life goes on. As long as I gave my best, my friends, my family -- I didn't let them down. I gave my best. I knew it would be competitive. I warmed up really good. Sadly, it didn't work out."

Leonel Manzano (Austin, Texas): "The pace was kind of slow. I gave a great effort, I tried to lead the pack. It was really aggressive. We just went out and I just kind of lost it mentally. I blew it in the last lap.

Women's 100m hurdles, 1st round

Damu Cherry (Winter Garden, Fla.): "I got off really slow. I had the flu last night and just didn't react. I had to play catch up. We'll see what happens. I felt flat today. There's no excuse. It is what it is."

Dawn Harper (Los Angeles, Calif.): "It was surprisingly easy for me. I ran exactly what I was going for. I was just trying to make it through healthy. I was a little nervous when I first came out but when I got into the blocks I calmed down."

Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, La.): "It's like an all out dog fight. I'm still kind of nervous. I have to keep telling myself to calm down. I want to have a complete race."

Women's 400m hurdles, 1st round

Tiffany Ross-Williams (Kissimmee, Fla.): "My coach wanted me to run a good technical race. I was able to do that. I'm trying to peak at the right time. Everything is coming together at the right time. I trust my coach. I'm just following his plan."

Sheena Tosta (Chula Vista, Calif.): "I had a lot of problems with my stride pattern. It's anyone's race. I hit that third hurdle and lost my focus."

Queen Quedith Harrison (Mechanicsville, Va.): "I had to push a little at the end. It was faster that I thought it would be. I'm not sure what happened in the heats. I have a lot left in my tank. I have to get mentally prepared."

Men's high jump qualifying

Jesse Wiliams (Eugene, Ore.): "I'm really disappointed. I had two misses at a height and if I had cleared the first, I would have made the final.

Dusty Jonas (Lincoln, Neb.): "It wasn't a great night, but you go out there and give it everything you've got. It's the Olympics and it's a great experience. Anything short of making the finals, at least tonight, is disappointing. It happens sometimes."

Men's 10,000m final

Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.): "It didn't go well. The experience was great. I'm an Olympian and no one can take that away from me."

It was the first time I ever got lapped. Those runners are pretty good out there. I could come back in four years and it could be my day, just like Deena did four years ago. I wish I could have done better, but I'll move on. I'll go raise my hand high and continue to dream again.

Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.): It was a good race, but I couldn't get my rhythm. You can tell in the first six, eight laps how you're feeling, I wasn't feeling my best. My training has been okay, but I didn't get the good, long run I wanted here.

Galen Rupp (Eugene, Ore.): "To come out here took it to another level for me. I ran pretty well. I was getting in there and being competitive. I think I did a great job of that. I stayed on the inside and didn't make any crazy moves. It was a comfortable pace until the last couple of miles when they really picked it up."