EUGENE, Ore. -- The defending Olympic pole vault champion warmed up, then cooled down, then ran through the whole process again, as the driving rain pelted the field Friday at U.S. Olympic Trials.The more time you have to think, the more youre like, `Wow. This is how bad things happen, Jenn Suhr said.Suhr escaped the badness. Several other big-name athletes werent as lucky on a rain-drenched afternoon at Hayward Field.On a day that saw LaShawn Merritt lower his world-best mark at 200 meters to 19.74 seconds -- in a semifinal heat, no less -- and two high-school kids, Michael Norman and Noah Lyles, earn spots in the final, there was just as much buzz about those whose chances got washed away in the rain.First among them was hurdler Dawn Harper-Nelson, whose run at a third Olympic medal came to a stunning halt in 100-meter semifinals, when she finished third -- not good enough to make the eight-woman final.Tears are going to come, she said. Right now, Im just in shock.Later, after the rain had stopped but the track was still slick, American record-holder Keni Harrison stumbled to a sixth-place finish and a spot on the couch next month. Brianna Rollins, the 2013 worlds gold medalist, won in 12.34 seconds, a comfortable .16 ahead of Kristi Castlin, who was considered a bigger threat four years ago at trials.Harrison was supposed to be the woman to beat this year.It happened so fast, she said, clearly holding back tears. Ill have to watch film. Its unfortunate, because my season was going so well. But this stuff happens.It also happened to Shamier Little. The worlds silver medalist in 400-meter hurdles didnt make it out of her semifinal heat.Allyson Felix took to the track well before the rain hit, and coasted through her 200-meter qualifying heat in 22.93 seconds. It was her first race in nearly a year at her favorite distance. She said nothings really changed with her aching right ankle, despite four days of rest.Just trying to see how it does on the curve, and all that, she said, as she moved ahead in her quest for the 200-400 double at the Rio Games.Shortly after Felixs race, the sky opened, and everybodys outlook changed. The discus and pole vault competitions were delayed. The 100-meter hurdle semifinals turned into even more of an adventure than usual.I couldnt see through my race, said Nia Ali, who got safely through the semifinal, then finished third in the final, too, to make the Olympics.Suhr, whose gold medal in London came in a windy rainstorm, only needed one jump to qualify for the final.Im thankful to make it, because you never take it for granted, she said.Also waiting out the rain was Tavis Bailey, who finished second in discus finals -- one of the most competitive contests on the card.When raindrops are hitting the discus in your hand, that will get to you, said Bailey, who finished behind Mason Finley.Not so fortunate was defending national champion Jared Schuurmans, who finished fifth.Others with decent chances who didnt make the team included high jumpers Jesse Williams, the 2011 world champion, and Randall Cunningham, who was hoping to join his sister, Vashti, on the trip to Brazil.When you landed on the mat, you landed in puddles, said Cunningham, who does the bulk of his training in bone-dry Las Vegas. Your whole body was soaked.Such is life in track and field -- and everything is amplified in the no-excuses world of U.S. Olympic qualifying, where the top three finishers make it and no exceptions are made for injuries, past performances -- or weather.Nobody felt worse than Harper-Nelson, who burst onto the scene eight years ago at the Birds Nest in Beijing, crossing the line first after her more-ballyhooed teammate, Lolo Jones, tripped on the second-to-last barrier. That day, Harper-Nelson crossed the line and could be seen mouthing the words What? What?She was every bit as dumbfounded by this finish.Complete disbelief, she called it. Ive never been in a position where someone is pulling away and I wasnt able to react.Other happenings on Day 7 of track trials:HURDLES WIN: Rollins stepped ever so slightly into an adjacent lane late in the 100-meter hurdles race but didnt impede fourth-place finisher Queen Harrison, so there was no protest, and no change in the results.SPRINT FAREWELL: Lost in the buzz over the high-schoolers making the 200-meter final was the fact that three longtime mainstays of the U.S. sprint team -- Mike Rodgers, Wallace Spearmon and Walter Dix -- all failed to advance. On the womens side, Jenna Prandini had the best 200 time, at 22.72 seconds.JAGR MASTERY: Evan Jager won the mens steeplechase in 8:22.48. Hell be joined in Rio by Hillary Bor and Donn Cabral.ARIES ADVANCES: Defending Olympic champion Aries Merritt, less than a year removed from a kidney transplant, made it through his qualifying heat in 110-meter hurdles. Also making it were 2008 bronze medalist David Oliver and 2012 silver medalist Jason Richardson.QUOTABLE: Dont mean to brag, but were pretty extraordinary, Lyles, after he and fellow 18-year-old Norman won their heats in the 200-meter semifinals. D. J. Augustin Jersey .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Charlotte Hornets Store . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. https://www.cheaphornets.com/875l-terry-rozier-jersey-hornets.html . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Bobby Phills Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Robert Franks Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Lydia Ko could hear the cheers as she played the Olympic Golf Course, only they werent for her.Not yet, anyway.The No. 1 player in womens golf played five holes about the time Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson were battling to the very end for the sports first Olympic medals in 112 years. She did make it to the 18th green in time to see the medals, and she got a photo with Rose and his gold.Hopefully, his vibes came off to me, she said Monday.Now its the womens turn.Even as the men were finishing up the final round, the women were allowed to resume preparations for the start of their event Wednesday. Ko didnt even wait that long. She was on the course in the morning to watch fellow her fellow Kiwi golfers, Danny Lee and Ryan Fox.I dont think Ive ever been such a huge fan, she said. Normally, I love my sleep. Yesterday, I slept a little less. I told them both, `I dont think I ever woke up at 7 a.m. to watch someone else play.Ko is the favorite, as she is most weeks on the LPGA Tour. She already has won four times this year, including her second major at the ANA Inspiration in California, and she was runner-up to Brooke Henderson of Canada in the KPMG Womens PGA Championship.Whats special about this week is playing for the flag, which she has never done as a professional.Ko is not eligible for the Solheim Cup, which is for Americans and Europeans. New Zealand does not have the depth to form a team for the International Crown, which was the closest event golf had to the Olympics before the Olympics came along.There is no team component to golf in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, so this week really is no different. It just feeels that way.ddddddddddddEven though there Im the only New Zealand woman golfer in this week, I think its not more about our sport, but just every other athlete and every other athlete from New Zealand, Ko said. I do feel that team vibe. I heard that some of the athletes might come out and watch me play, and I think even more then Ill be super excited to see the Silver Fern and see all the logos.Its a quick turnaround for the women. The competition starts Wednesday so the Olympics can conclude ahead of Sundays closing ceremony. Some of the men were able to take part in the opening ceremony and spent the early part of the week going to other events.Ko chose not to be part of the opening ceremony and didnt arrive until Saturday because she thought a week in Rio would be too much. She also is not staying in the athletes village, though she did eat there over the weekend.Just to be in the team vibe, wear the uniform, go out yesterday and watch the guys play, its been really great so far, she said. And its only going to go up.This is the second time in three years that the women have played on the same course a week after the men. The U.S. Open staged the men and women at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, and the USGA pulled it off exceptionally well. The course played shorter, but the women still were hitting roughly the same shots into green.Ko is expecting the same from what little she has seen of the Olympic Golf Course.Im pretty sure I do not hit a 9-iron at the same place Bubba Watson is hitting a 9-iron, she said. ' ' '