World high jump champ Williams struggles to qualify for Olympics

On a rainy Monday at the meet where the top three finishers typically book US Olympic berths, Williams slipped in with a fourth-place finish only because third-place finisher Nick Ross didn't make the Olympic A standard. "For me not to be on the team would be a disaster. It almost didn't happen for me," ," Williams said. "

Jess Williams

Ross took three leaps at 2.31 metres, the height he needed to clear to qualify for the Olympics, but failed each time as Williams watched helplessly, unable to do more than hope his rival missed.

"I've never been in a situation quite that dramatic, wishing someone to miss," Williams said. "He had some really good jumps at 2.31. I was sitting there thinking, ‘Miss them.' Normally I don't think that during competitions. Normally I don't put myself in that kind of distress."

Montano, who missed the podium at last year's worlds by .06 of a second, won the women's 800 in 1:59.08. Her season-best time of 1:57.37 at a Diamond League meet in Eugene on June 1 ranks second in the world this year. No American woman has won an 800 Olympic medal since Kim Gallagher in 1988. - u00a0