Michigan Olympic Updates: Men's Track and Field
8/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Olympics
• Rio Olympics Site | U-M Olympics Coverage
Saturday, Aug. 20
Michigan alumni and former teammates Nate Brannen and Nick Willis both turned in top-10 finishes in the 1,500-meter final, with Willis claiming third place for his second Olympic medal and Brannen placing 10th. Both runners settled into the middle of the pack through a slow opening lap, before Willis moved up among the frontrunners as the pace started to quicken at 800 meters. Caught on the rail, he was pushed back as the field began to string out in the final lap and came around the bend in sixth place but quickly moved into fifth and used a strong kick to pick up two more spots down the stretch. He finished in 3:50.24 -- just .24 behind American gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz and .05 ahead of fourth-place finisher Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti. Brannen, who was near the back of the pack coming out of the final turn, himself picked up a couple positions down the stretch to finish in 3:51.45.
• 1,500-Meter Run (Final): 3 - Nick Willis (3:50.24), 10 - Nate Brannen (3:51.45)
• Willis Captures 1,500-Meter Olympic Bronze; Brannen Places 10th
Thursday, Aug. 18
Michigan alumni Nate Brannen and Nick Willis both qualified for the 12-man final in the 1,500-meter run after a wild finish in the event's first semifinal race Thursday evening. After a slow, tactical start, the field remained bunched at the bell, with Willis in fifth place and Brannen further back in the pack. Willis cut to the outside down the homestretch, moving from the eighth position to third and crossing the line -- in a blanket finish -- in 3:39.96 to secure one of five automatic bids. Brannen, who struggled to stay among the leaders late on rail, finished seventh in 3:40.20, but his time held up through the second semifinal to qualify him for one of two additional berths. It will be the third straight 1,500-meter Olympic final for Willis, the 2008 silver medalist, and the first in three tries for Brannen, who just missed the 2012 final after getting spiked midway through that semifinal race.
• 1,500-Meter Run (Semifinal 1): 3 - Nick Willis (3:39.96), 7 - Nate Brannen (3:40.20)
Tuesday Aug. 16
Michigan alumni Nate Brannen and Nick Willis both recorded top-six finishes in their respective 1,500-meter run heats to secure automatic qualifying bids to the semifinals. Brannen claimed fourth place in a pedestrian second heat, using a monster kick down the homestretch to move from 10th place to fourth on the outside and cross the finish line in 3:47.07. Willis also surged down the final stretch, similarly moving up from 10th place to finish sixth and nab the final automatic spot in the third heat -- the fastest of the morning -- in a time of 3:38.55. Fellow Wolverine alumnus Jeff Porter just missed making the eight-man final in the 110-meter hurdles, claiming third place in the third semifinal in a time of 13.45. The top two in each race automatically qualified plus the next two fastest times; with his time, Porter missed the cut by four hundredths of a second.
• 1,500-Meter Run (Heat 3): 4 - Nate Brannen (3:47.07)
• 1,500-Meter Run (Heat 2): 6 - Nick Willis (3:38.55)
• 110-Meter Hurdles (Semifinal 3): 3 - Jeff Porter (13.45)
Jeff Porter
Monday, Aug. 15
Michigan alumnus Jeff Porter, battling through a heavy rain that halted track competition less than 30 minutes after his race, cruised to a second-place finish in his opening heat of the 110-meter hurdles to advance to the Olympic semifinals for the second time in his career. With the top four finishers in each heat advancing, Porter started strong and surged down the stretch, crossing the line in 13.50 -- 0.23 seconds behind Jamaica's Omar McLeod, a fellow NCAA high hurdles champion at Arkansas, but 0.16 in front of the next-closest competitor. Porter's time ranked him eighth overall among the 40-man preliminary field.
• 110-meter Hurdles (Heat 1): 2 - Jeff Porter (13.50)
