Wanless, Godsey impress in U.S. Olympic Team Trials finals
 | Liz Wanless ’04 |
 | Keelin Godsey ’06 |
Needing a top-three finish to make the U.S. team that will compete in Beijing next month, Wanless (Muncie, Ind.) finished fifth out of 12 competitors in Saturday’s shot put final. Wanless’s top shot put traveled 58-11.50, or 17.97 meters, just six centimeters behind fourth-place Chandra Brewer and 15 centimeters behind third-place finisher Jillian Camarena, Wanless’s teammate with the New York Athletic Club.
Godsey (Boston, Mass.) finished seventh in the women’s hammer throw, notching a top throw of 65.57 meters (215-01) on the day.
Both former Bates women’s track and field teammates made it through the preliminary round on Thursday night to qualify for Saturday’s finals. Wanless launched the shot put 17.55 meters (57-07) on her first attempt Thursday night, and that was all she needed to move on to Saturday’s finals. Wanless’s effort, the fourth best in a field of 20 women, exceeded the automatic qualifying mark to compete in Beijing next month. Her best effort this year is 18.60 meters.
Godsey (Boston, Mass.) launched a personal record throw of 217-03 (66.22 meters) in prelims, finishing fourth in Flight 1 and qualifying for Saturday’s finals as the seventh-best in the preliminary field of 23 competitors.
Bates will still be represented in Beijing by another alum. Andrew Byrnes ’05 last week was named to the Canadian Men’s Eight by Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA). Byrnes, a former rower at Bates, will make his first Olympic appearance and have a strong chance for a medal as well, judging by Canada’s performances in the past year. In May, Canada claimed gold at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, edging out runner-up China. Last summer, during Byrnes’ first year as a member of Canada’s top eight-man boat, the Canadians captured the gold medal at the FISA World Championships in Munich, Germany.
U.S. Olympic Team Trials Web site