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Eugene, Ore. • Mike Hardy, the small-town runner with big-time talent, was aiming for the stars when he hit the ground NOT running Monday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Hardy, the former Weber State standout out of little Morgan High School, tripped on a steeplechase barrier on the next-to-last lap. He quickly picked himself off the Hayward Field track and began running at a frantic pace, but he ran himself to exhaustion trying to return to contention. Midway through his final lap, he slowed considerably before pulling out of his heat.
Hardy held early leads and was still in the middle of the pack and challenging for one of 14 spots in Friday's finals when he tumbled over one of the five barriers (one at a water pit) that are part of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
"The group got too close and I wasn't able to jump when I needed to," Hardy said. "I ended up clipping my back leg on the barrier."
Hardy, who placed fifth at the NCAA Championships last year at Hayward, said Weber's strong steeplechase program and his own training prepared him well for the Trials.
"I definitely felt like I could make it to the finals," Hardy said.
A stranger told Hardy "it ripped my guts out" to see Hardy's Olympic dreams shattered by the trip.
"Well," Hardy said with a weak smile, "mine, too."
Hardy, 26, said this may be his first and only Olympic Trials. Married with a full-time engineering job, Hardy said he will make decisions on his running career "year by year" after he bids for a berth in the 2017 national championships.
Despite Monday's disappointment, Hardy said, "It was a great experience. I'm really proud to be here. It was a great opportunity."