Track's Aaliyah Butler Secures Olympic Spot In 400m At US Trials

EUGENE, Ore. --- Georgia sophomore sprinter Aaliyah Butler topped her own school record and secured a spot on Team USA in the 400-meter dash on the third day of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., Sunday.

Butler, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., came out of lane five and was the second finisher in the 400m final with a 49.71, which topped her school record of 49.79 from this year's Southeastern Conference Championships. Professionals Kendall Ellis (49.46) and Alexis Holmes (49.71) finished first and third, respectively, to complete Team USA's 400m squad.

Keturah Orji, who competed for Georgia from 2015-18, traveled the second-longest distance of the meet in the triple jump on her sixth try Saturday to earn a spot on Team USA for the coming Olympics. Fourth in the triple jump at the 2016 Games, Orji was seventh at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

The Bulldogs also had a qualifier for the finals who was a former NCAA sprint champion.

Matthew Boling bettered his personal record from Friday during Sunday's semifinal to qualify for the 400m final. His time of 44.91 finished him third in his heat and sixth overall and he will now race on Monday at 9:59 p.m. ET.

Georgia also had one qualifier for an event final Saturday.

Jamari Drake posted three clearances in the high jump, including at a season-best height, to punch her ticket to Monday's final.

Six current Bulldogs and nine former Georgia standouts are competing in their home country's Trials between June 21-30.  The meet is being held on the University of Oregon campus where the Bulldog men and women recently finished ninth and 10^th, respectively, at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 5-8).  The top three finishers in each event at the Trials will advance to the Olympic Games in Paris (August 1-11), barring the athletes have the standard mark/time necessary in their event.

When Do The Bulldogs Begin On Day Four: Drake will compete in the women's high jump final on Monday at 8:15 p.m. while Boling will aim for a shot at the Games in the men's 400m final at 9:59 p.m.

Schedule: http://gado.gs/byw

The meet will be shown on NBC, Peacock and USA.  Here is the complete television/webcast schedule: http://gado.gs/byx

Also of note, Marc Minichello went 73.07 meters/239 feet, 8 inches on his final attempt in the men's javelin to take eighth in the final.  This concludes a 2024 season that saw him win his second NCAA title in his featured event.

Former Bulldog All-American Kendal Williams was also eighth in the 100m final after running a 10.04 on Sunday.

Results and recaps from the coming Trials will be found at georgiadogs.com.  News and updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

Track's Aaliyah Butler Secures Olympic Spot In 400m At US Trials

Players Mentioned

Matthew Boling

Aaliyah Butler

Marc Minichello

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