Angelo Taylor | Angelo Moves into Final with Ease | Official Website www.AngeloTaylorUSA.com

06/29/2012 - 17:12
Angelo Moves into Final with Ease
by Devon Jeffreys

Angelo Taylor is making it look easy at the U.S. Olympic trials.

For the second straight day, Angelo put on a clinic in his heat of the 400-meter hurdles, steaming through the semi-finals in a time of 48.77 seconds. His time was the fastest in his heat by three tenths of a second.

"I'm feeling good," he told FloTrack. "I made it to the final. I won my heat. It's a huge step and a confidence booster for the final."

Angelo's quick pace in preliminary heats has allowed him to shut it down in the homestretch (Getty Images).

What has seperated Angelo from the pack so far at the U.S. Olympic Trials has been his starting speed, which has allowed AT to grab the lead early in each race and pull away in the first half of the 400. His leads have swelled so big that he is able to pull off the gas in the final 50 meters and conserve energy. He said both races have gone exactly according to plan.

"I wanted to get out and run hard for eight," he said, "then stay controlled and relaxed in the run home. It's definitely a good sign. When you can run that time and shut it down, it just lets me know where I am right now."

Angelo gets a day of rest before the 400-meter hurdles final on Sunday evening in Eugene. He doesn't expect to have it as easy in that race and is prepared to put the hammer down in the final, seeking perhaps the first sub-47 second time in the world this year.

"I'm putting it all out on the line," he said. "Number one, it's about getting on the team, but I want to run a fast time just to put a statement down and let the world know that Team USA is ready."

The men's 400-meter hurdles final is one of the main events on the final day at U.S. Olympic Team Trials. It will begin at 7:12 p.m. EDT and can be seen live during NBC's coverage from 7-8 p.m.

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