Bayer, Butler to compete in U.S. Olympic Trials

Just in the nick of time, recently crowned NCAA 1,500-meter champion Andy Bayer clinched his spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
 
Only hours before the midnight deadline for qualifying, Bayer registered a time of 3:38.07 Sunday at the Bloomington Twilight meet.  The time was less than a second under the 3:39.00 Olympic Trials ‘A’ standard time.

Bayer will be joined at the U.S. Olympic Trials by fellow Hoosier Kind Butler, who clocked a time of 45.43 seconds in the 400-meter dash Saturday in the American Milers Club meet at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium. The time was third fastest in IU history.

The U.S. Olympic Trials, the largest national championship track meet in the world, will be held June 21-25 and June 28-July 1 in Eugene, Ore. 

The qualifying heats for the 1500-meter and 400-meter are scheduled for 4:20 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, on Thursday, June 28, according to USA Track and Field.

Earlier this month, Bayer captured the NCAA 1,500m title with a time of 3:43.82, eking out a win over BYU’s Miles Batty by one-hundredth of a second. 

By edging Batty, Bayer joins Bob Kennedy and Jim Spivey as IU’s only national champions in the event and became the school’s first NCAA Champion in a running event since 1993.

--Ben Simmons