Natalie Dumas, who qualified for U.S. Senior Nationals in three events, has opted to compete in the 800-meter run later this month in Eugene.
Dumas, 16, qualified in the 400, 800 and 400-meter hurdles when she won all three events at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field last month.
She ran all-time top-10 U.S. high school times of 51.14, 2:00.11 and 55.99, times no other woman in world history has achieved.
Dumas ranks 19th among U.S. women in the 400 and intermediates and 23rd in the 800. On the all-time U.S. Under-18 lists, she’s No. 4 in the 400, No. 2 in the 800 and No. 4 in the 400 hurdles. The auto qualifying standard in the 800 is 2:00.50.
Only seven women from New Jersey have broken two minutes in the 800, and three of them presumably will be in the field at Nationals – Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu of Trenton [1:54.97], Ajee Wilson of Neptune [1:55.61] and Olivia Baker of Columbia [1:58.05].
The only faster women from South Jersey are Shawnee’s Michelle DiMuro, who ran 1:59.85 and placed 5th at the 1996 Olympic Trials in Atlanta, and Haddonfield’s Erin Donohue, who ran 1:59.99 at Meeting International d’Athlétisme de la Province at Stade Naimette-Xhovémont in Liège, Belgium.
Dumas’s two-fastest times – 2:02.75 at the Meet of Champions and 2:00.11 at West Philly Nationals – came as the 3rd race of a triple. This will be her first fresh 800 since the state Group 4 meet.
The first round of the 800 is scheduled for 6:21 p.m. EST on the first day of nationals, Thursday, July 31. Presumably, there will be four heats, with the top six in each heat plus the next three-fastest times advancing to the semifinals at 8:04 p.m. EST on Friday.
The top two in each of three semifinals and the next three-fastest will advance to a nine-runner final, which is slated for 4:18 p.m. EST Sunday. Last year, when Nationals were the Olympic Trials, 2:02.64 advanced to the semis and 2:01.11 advanced to the final.
Dumas’s 800 progression is astonishing. She wasn’t one of those freshman phenoms back in 2023.
She ran two 800s indoors as a freshman, PR’ing at 2:35.52 in a meet at Ocean Breeze. That ranked 39th among New Jersey freshmen. She ran 2:27.28 that spring in a meet at Pennsauken, which ranked 36th among New Jersey freshman.
Dumas had a big breakthrough indoors as a sophomore with a 2:16.80 at the state Group 4 meet at the Bubble and then dropped to 2:14.30 outdoors at South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals at Pennsauken.
Her biggest drop came this past indoor season, when she lowered her PR nearly seven seconds to 2:07.68 at Armory Nationals. That remained her PR until a meet-record 2:02.75 as part of a Meet of Champions triple – also at Pennsauken – and then the 2:00.11 two weeks later at Franklin Field. That’s No. 5 in U.S. high school history and No. 11 in world history in the Under-18 division.
The USATF Championships are scheduled for July 31-Aug. 3 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
The top three finishers in each event will make up the U.S. team that will compete at the World Championships in Tokyo Sept. 13-21.
1:54.97 … Athing Mu [Trenton], Sept. 17, 2023, Eugene, Ore.
1:55.61 … Ajee Wilson [Neptune], July 21, 2017, Monaco
1:57.84 … Joetta Clark [Columbia], Aug. 8, 1998, Monaco
1:57.99 … Hazel Clark [Columbia], July 29, 2005, Oslo, Norway
1:58.05 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], Aug. 10, 2022, Monaco
1:59.85 … Michelle DiMuro [Shawnee], June 17, 1996, Atlanta
1:59.99 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], July 13, 2010, Liège, Belgium
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 