In a Do-Or-Die Race, James Corrigan Makes the Olympic Team

At the Penn Relays Summer Showcase on Saturday night, Corrigan ran 8:13.87 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to clinch his spot on the Olympic team.

James Corrigan had one final shot to go to the Olympics: run under the Olympic standard of 8:15 or forfeit his spot to Evan Jager.

At the Penn Relays Summer Showcase in Philadelphia on Saturday night, Corrigan ran 8:13.87 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to clinch his spot on the Olympic team.

Clutch.

So how did we get here? The whole situation is admittedly confusing.

At the Olympic Trials last Sunday, Corrigan placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, one spot ahead of Jager. In many events, the top three in each event qualify for the Olympics. But there’s a catch: an athlete has to either have achieved an Olympic qualifying mark or have a high enough world ranking, which is determined by placement at major meets.

Corrigan didn’t have either, so his Olympic hopes were in flux. Since he’s a college athlete at BYU, he mostly competed in collegiate competitions this year, which don’t offer many world ranking points. So Corrigan, 22, knew that to clinch his spot to Paris, the most sure-fire way would be to run under the 8:15 mark.

Since the qualifying window closes on June 30, a section of the steeplechase was added to the Penn Relays Summer Showcase—essentially with the sole goal of allowing Corrigan a chance to run under the standard.

The last-minute race paid off.

Daniel Michalski served as Corrigan’s pacer through 2,000 meters, then Corrigan, who was being chased by Yasin Sado of Virginia, dug deep and closed the last lap in 1:03.47 to secure his ticket to Paris. Corrigan was just ninth at the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase. He entered the season with a PB of 8:52—now he’s officially an Olympian.

The Team USA men’s steeplechase team will now be Corrgian; his former teammate at BYU, Kenneth Rooks; and Under Armour athlete Matt Wilkinson.