Powell's London bid falls just short

Originally published June 23, 2012 at 8:17 PM | Page modified June 23, 2012 at 10:17 PM

In less than 13 seconds, Ginnie Powell-Crawford saw her future turned upside down.

Crawford, the former Rainier Beach High and USC competitor, was in position to make her first Olympic Games here Saturday evening, getting off well in the 100-meter hurdles. But she gave ground over the last half of the race, and finished a dispiriting fourth in the trials.

Fourth, of course, is where the disappointment begins.

"I don't know," Crawford said, turning philosophical to a handful of reporters. "I never thought it would be so disappointing to make me want to find something else to do."

But Crawford, at first blush, admitted she might be facing that crossroads. She turns 29 in September, and has now known the chagrin of making two Olympic trials finals and not landing on a team. She was sixth in 2008.

"The ending on my race has always been my weakness," she said. "It definitely hurt me today. It's something I haven't been able to figure out my whole hurdle career. No one has seemed to be able to fix that. I've been with two coaches, and somehow I just deteriorate and hit a wall."

Crawford said as her race developed from lane seven, she could sense Dawn Harper, in lane six, surging ahead. Harper won the race in 12.73, with Kellie Wells second in 12.77 and Lolo Jones, who had a late-race fall to thwart a gold-medal run in Beijing, third in 12.86. Crawford ran 12.90.

"I was hoping to look up (at the scoreboard) and see my name," Crawford said, "but I didn't."

She talked about the massive pressure in such an endeavor.

"Your livelihood is on the line every time you step out there," she said. "All that matters is 12 seconds, and it's all you. In a basketball game, LeBron James and the Miami Heat, you're out there with a whole team of people and you get seven games.

"Here, you get three rounds, two days, 12 seconds. It's super-cutthroat. I'm still under contract, it's financially OK, but I may find something else I want to do."

The women's 100 final provided a much less-concrete result.

After a long review, race officials determined Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh finished in a dead-heat for third place, each at 11.068 seconds. Only three spots are available at the Olympics and USA Track and Field officials were huddling, trying to solve a problem for which there is no written solution. Carmelita Jeter won the race in 10.92.

USA Track and Field officials were meeting late into the night to sort out how to break this sort of tie and who will join Jeter and second-place finisher Tianna Madison.

Spokeswoman Jill Geer said she didn't know when a decision would be reached.

Elsewhere, Tyson Gay made it through his first 100 heat cleanly, while LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and Sanya Richards-Ross all advanced in the 400.

The Associated Press

contributed to this report.

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