Wichita’s Austin Bahner lowers hurdles for lower times in preparation for Olympic Trials decathlon

Austin Bahner needs two of the best days of his decathlon life this weekend in the U.S. Olympic Trials. His qualifying score of 7,765 points, second-best of his career, ranks 15th in the 18-man field.

The top three make the Olympic team. The next seven are eligible for the Thorpe Cup, a multi-events dual against Germany that Bahner competed in twice for Team USA.

The demand for personal records isn’t part of Bahner’s mental preparation in stark terms. He is more focused on the fact he’s healthy and prepared to peak on Saturday and Sunday in Eugene, Ore.

“This is what I’ve been training for all year long,” he said. “This past couple weeks have been about feeling good and staying healthy, having good, intense, feeling-good workouts.”

Bahner, a former Heights and Wichita State athlete, makes his first appearance at the Olympic Trials. His experience, which includes last summer’s eighth-place finish in the Pan Am Games and seventh-place finishes in the 2013 and 2014 USA Championships, prepares him for this level of competition. If the stakes of competing against the top national athletes wanders through his brain, it doesn’t show.

“Austin now is an experienced guy and I don’t think he’s intimidated by those guys as much as he might have been previously,” WSU coach Steve Rainbolt said. “This guy doesn’t get too rattled.”

Bahner, who competed for the Shockers from 2010-14, is largely his own coach. Rainbolt serves as a listener and adviser, lending his expertise as multi-events specialist. The training program is molded over the past six years as Bahner discards what doesn’t work.

“He knows better than I do,” Rainbolt said. “He did a workout (Sunday) and he did discus and hurdles and a final-blast effort. Final-blast effort (300 meter sprint) is what we taught him to do as a freshman here and he’s been doing the same before every decathlon. It’s a confidence-builder — ‘I ran a hot 300 and it really went well.’ ”

Bahner finished second in the Chula Vista (Calif.) High Performance Meet in late May with 7,765 points. Since then, he added a third weekly session working on the 110-meter hurdles, his weakest event, to his routine. At Chula Vista, he finished with fifth with a time of 15.52 seconds.

“I feel really comfortable with them now,” he said. “I’ve been focusing on my form, not necessarily keeping them at the high-hurdle height, but keeping them low and and working on my form and rhythm. Last week was the first time I put them up and got over them and it felt improved, definitely.”

Rainbolt will coach Team USA in the Thorpe Cup in late July in Fayetteville, Ark. He enjoys a say, along with a USA Track and Field representative, in the two at-large picks to fill out the seven-man roster.

“If he doesn’t finish in the top eight, say he got 11th or 12th or something, even though there’s some pressure to go with the next two guys, his strong performances at previous Thorpe Cups will help him,” Rainbolt said. “I’m certainly going to have input.”

NBC Sports Network will show part of the decathlon at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Former Shockers threats in distance race — WSU’s best chance to send athletes to the Olympics is in the women’s 10,000 meters on Saturday.

Former Shockers Kellyn Taylor and Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton, who recently earned U.S. citizenship, are ranked in the top 10 for the women’s 10,000-meter race on Saturday. Taylor, who will also run the 5,000, ranks fifth with a time of 31 minutes 40.70 seconds. Tuliamuk-Bolton is ninth with a time of 31:54.20.

The field, according to Rainbolt, isn’t one with heavy favorites.

“Two great girls, two great athletes, two girls that meant the world to our program,” Rainbolt said.

Taylor will race in the first round of the 5,000 on Thursday (July 7) with the finals on July 10.

NBC will show the 10,000 meters at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Belardo misses cut — WSU sophomore Jared Belardo will not compete in the long jump.

Belardo, from Leavenworth, entered the week tied for 24th in the 24-man field. After all athletes declared, he ranked 26th.

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Wichita’s Austin Bahner lowers hurdles for lower times in preparation for Olympic Trials decathlon."