EUGENE, Ore. — A Port Angeles resident is in Track Town, USA this week for the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Greg Halberg won’t be competing at the famed field, the epicenter of the U.S. track and field program.
Instead, Halberg is coaching Eric England, one of 24 triple jump hopefuls competing for three spots at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The first round of the competition is set for 4:45 p.m. today.
England, who competes for Eastern Oregon University, won the NAIA outdoor national championship in May with a mark of 52-feet, 11-inches.
“What he jumped there would have gotten him fourth place at the Division I-leve,” Halberg said.
Halberg, who had previously worked for the Eastern Oregon athletic department, served as an assistant coach during the recently completed outdoor season.
“For college-level athletes it’s a year-round sport,” Halberg said.
“So I came in about 3/4 of the way through the season.
“He obviously came in pretty good, and since I’ve been coaching him he’s gotten better by about 2 or 3 feet.
“He jumped about 15.50 meters going in and his PR now is 16.36 meters which is about 53 feet.
Halberg said he worked on improving England’s posture upon landing, and the footwork necessary to launch such a great distance.
“We’ve been working on correct posture, really, and the steps into the jump,” Halberg said.
“His first phase is really good, his second phase is nearly perfect.”
This is England’s first Olympic Trials, but he has competed at the USA Indoors, another prestigious collection of track and field talent.
Halberg said England’s personal-best, set last month at the Treasure Valley YMCA All-Comers in Boise, Idaho, puts him about 20th out of the 24 competitors, including 2012 Olympic champion Christian Taylor and 2012 silver medalist Will Claye.
“Making the team this time around, well, it’s a longshot for him, but he’s good enough that he will continue to compete after college and reasonably competitive at the world level,” Halberg said.
“He’s been a joy to coach. And this event is really good preparation for four years from now when he has a good chance [to make the U.S. Olympic team].”
England will certainly have his work cut out for him, as he’ll be sharing the runway with world-class athletes,
“Even when I competed at USA Indoors, I didn’t see this high caliber of competition,” he told the La Grande Observer.
“It’s exciting because I’m going to be on a high stage with elite and professional competition.”
After the trials, Halberg will return to Port Angeles and will continue his work training youth athletes.
For more information on those efforts, search for the North Olympic Track Club on Facebook.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.