EUGENE, Oregon — Becky O’Brien of Cumberland finished 16th in the qualifying round of the shot put Thursday during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials and did not advance to the final round later that evening at Hayward Field.
The 25-year-old O’Brien, a a third-year assistant track coach at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, recorded distances of 55 feet, 11 ¾ inches in her first and second throws and a 54-½ in her final attempt.
O’Brien was a scholastic national champion in the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 1 inch while a student at Greely High School in Cumberland Center.
She is a 2012 graduate of the University of Buffalo, where she set school and Mid-American Conference records for the shot put both indoors (57-7) and outdoors (56-6), and the discus (193-7).
Tia Brooks, a two-time NCAA champion from the University of Oklahoma, turned in the best qualifying effort with a distance of 62-6 ½.
On Wednesday night, Amber Campbell defended her title and broke her own meet record in the women’s hammer throw at the Trials.
Campbell bettered her Trials record of 235-6 set when she won the event in 2012.
“Have fun and let it rip and see what happens,” Campbell said. “In 2012 I got the win and the record and it happened again, so I am very excited.”
Campbell was third heading into the final round before passing Gwen Berry and DeAnna Price on her final attempt to earn a trip back to the Olympics in Rio.
“I was just trying to relax and let it fly,” Campbell said. “It was all about getting that last one to go and it did, so I am happy with it.”
Price led at 239-9 heading into the sixth and final round, but was passed by Campbell and tied by Berry, who earned second place based on her second-best throw of 236-5. Berry set the American record at 250-4 in May, but the mark was wiped out because she reported that she had used a medication to treat asthma that wasn’t on the approved list.
“I took it personal and went as crazy as I could,” said Berry, who joined Campbell and Price as Olympic qualifiers. “I felt like a lot of things were taken from me this season. I got in trouble for something small. I wanted to make the team and prove to the world that I am here because of my talents and not an inhaler or cheating or drugs and that is what I did.”
Campbell just finished her collegiate season at Southern Illinois before making the Olympic team with the toss on her fifth attempt.
“I was thinking ‘I got this’ and then I hit the finish and knew it,” she said. “I knew it was a good one and then when it came up, it was a dream come true.”
All three Olympic qualifiers bettered the meet record set by Campbell in 2012.
Amanda Bingson, who won the national title in 2013 and 2014, placed fourth at 230-8.
“It’s not exactly what I wanted, but we have got some good girls going over to Rio that are going to do some damage,” Bingson said. “This is probably as competitive as it has been. They broke the meet record a couple times. That is why they call it the hardest team to make.”