Olympic gold medalist English Gardner from Eastern high School advanced to Saturday’s semifinals in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Gardner, the 2016 champion, ran 11.17 late Friday evening to place third in the fourth and final heat at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., her home track in college and the track she ran 10.74 at the 2016 Trials, No. 9 in world history.
The top three in each heat and the next four-fastest times advance to Saturday’s second round. Gardner was third in her heat, qualifying automatically.
Gardner just ran 11.13 last week, which was her fastest wind-legal time since an 11.02 in 2018 and below the Olympic standard of 11.15.
The semifinals are scheduled for 9:03 p.m. EST. Saturday. Gardner will be in lane 7 in the second of two races. The top three in each heat and the next two-fastest advance to the final, which is scheduled for 10:51 p.m. EST on Saturday.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 