Two Missourians Headed to Sydney

Two Missourians have made the U.S. Olympic team. Pole vaulter Chad Harting of Mexico survived a rare “jump-off” to finish third at the U.S. trials and earn a trip to Sydney, Australia. It was the first jump-off at the trials since 1936. Harting cleared 18 feet, 5 and 1/2 inches. It’s his first Olympic berth. Jason Pyrah of Willard will go to the Olympics for the second time. He finished second in the men’s 1500. Pyrah ran his second best time ever, 3 minutes and 36.70 seconds.Jeff Hartwig of St. Charles, the American record holder in the pole vault, was eliminated in the preliminaries after trouble with a contact lense ruined his depth perception. After being eliminated, Hartwig said, “Hindsight is 20/20.”