Milwaukee City Wire

Natalie Block advanced to the semifinal round of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials after achieving a first-round time of 13.84 seconds on Friday evening at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Block will compete again on Saturday evening, with the semifinals of the 100m hurdles scheduled to begin at 7:04 p.m. (CT). The event will be broadcast nationwide on NBC and streamed online on Peacock.

"I was really impressed with how Natalie handled the atmosphere of competing at the Olympic Trials," commented head coach Andrew Basler. "From her warm-up to the competition, she stayed focused on what she needed to accomplish."

"There was definitely some uncertainty heading into her race, seeing how she had not competed in five weeks," Basler added.

"I feel there were two main things Natalie had to work through in today's race," Basler continued. "First, the ankle she injured at NCAA Championships in her trail leg, which is her first step off each hurdle. She just couldn't drive off of each hurdle with the power she is used to because of some lingering discomfort with each step. The other thing is that the 100m hurdles is an event that relies heavily on feeling competition rhythm."

"Having not competed in the 100m hurdles in five weeks, I think her competition rhythm was a little rusty. I would anticipate that tomorrow's semifinal will be better just from feeling that competition rhythm again," noted Basler.

"Post-race, the ankle did not worsen, which was a major positive," Basler concluded. "We are excited to give it another go in the semifinals on Saturday."