Despite finishing second during last month’s United States Olympic Trials, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff high jumper Caleb Snowden will not travel to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.
USA Track and Field released its official Olympics roster Tuesday. Shelby McEwen, JuVaughn Harrison and Vernon Turner will represent the United States in the high jump.
McEwen was the only jumper to outlast Snowden at the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. They were the only two jumpers to clear 2.27 meters. McEwen won gold by clearing 2.30 meters in one try, while Snowden was unable to clear that height, which would have been a new personal best.
Harrison and Tyus Wilson were the only two besides McEwan and Snowden to clear 2.24 meters, but neither cleared 2.27. Wilson finished third ahead of Harrison because he cleared 2.24 in one try, while Harrison needed two attempts.
Typically, the top three finishers make the Olympic team, but Snowden and Wilson had not met the Olympic standard of 2.33 meters during this qualification window. McEwen, who is ranked ninth in the world, had cleared that height in February during a meet in the Czech Republic, so his first-place finish in Oregon secured him a spot in Paris.
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The rest of the team could not be officially set until the world rankings were updated. Harrison, who is ranked third, was the only other American besides McEwen to have met the Olympic standard. He cleared 2.36 meters during a meet in Budapest, Hungary, last August.
Turner received the final spot due to his being the highest-ranked American after Harrison and McEwen. Turner, who is ranked 20th, underperformed at the Olympic trials and did not reach the finals in Oregon, but his performances throughout the season earned him enough points in the world ranking system to make a trip to Paris.
Snowden’s silver medal at the Olympic trials was another to add to his ever-growing collection. He won bronze at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, also at Hayward Field, and silver at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston this year. However, any Olympic dreams will have to wait until at least 2028, when the games will be played in Los Angeles.