Former Hawkeye track athlete Aaron Mallet to compete for an Olympic spot
The former Hawkeye will compete for a spot on the 110-meter Olympic hurdle team on Friday.
Iowa hurdlers Gratt Reed, Jamal Britt, Iowa alum Aaron Mallett––who ran unattached––compete in the 60m hurdle premier final during the second day of the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 at the University of Iowa Recreation Building. Reed, Britt, and Mallett finished fifth, second, and first, respectively. Due to coronavirus restrictions, the Hawkeyes could only host Big Ten teams. Iowa men took first, scoring 189, and women finished third with 104 among Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Illinois.
June 23, 2021
Former Iowa track and field athlete Aaron Mallett will attempt to qualify for the 2020 Olympics at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, this week.
Mallet, who ran for Iowa from 2014-17, will be competing in the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the Olympic Trials.
To represent Team USA in Tokyo, Mallet will first need to make it out of the qualifying round. The first round of the 110-meter hurdles will start at 4:33 p.m. on Friday and be televised on NBCSN.
If Mallet makes the final round Saturday, he will need to finish in the top three and meet the Olympic time standard of 13.48 seconds. The final round of the 110-meter hurdles will air at 9:51 p.m. on NBC.
In September 2020, Mallett set his personal best in the 110-meter hurdles at the Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, with a time of 13.15 seconds. His time beat the other Americans competing at the event by .04 seconds.
Mallet has not had the opportunity in 2021 to travel outside of the country in the 110-meter hurdles because of concerns surrounding COVID-19.
“It was a little bit different just staying domestic the whole time,” Mallett said. “Used to kind of going overseas and get into those types of races with different athletes from different countries and stuff like that, but obviously America has a bunch of great athletes, let alone hurdlers, so I was able to run against very good competition here in the states.”
Domestically, Mallet competed at a track meet held in Los Angeles by the American Track League on May 15. At the meet, the St. Louis native finished fourth with a 13.46-second time. Omar McLeod, the 2016 Olympic gold medal winner representing Jamaica, finished first with a time of 13.11 seconds.
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Mallet said he could have ran a time closer to 13.20 or 13.30 seconds if his block hadn’t slipped at the beginning of the race. With such a short distance event, Mallet said, the start is the most crucial part of the race.
“It was positive in the sense that I still ran pretty well,” Mallett said. “But it was also, ‘OK dang I could have really put something down and kind of make a statement.’ But I mean I guess that’s what the trials are for, you go, you compete with the best, so I’ll have the opportunity to do so there.”
There will also be other Hawkeyes competing in the 110-meter event at the Olympic trials. Former Hawkeye Jaylan McConico finished second at the NCAA Championships on June 11 with a 13.38 time. At the 2021 Big Ten Championships May 14-16, McConico recorded a program record 13.23 seconds, eclipsing Mallet’s previous 2017 record by .01 seconds.
Rising Hawkeye senior Jamal Britt will also be competing as placed fourth at the 2021 NCAA Championships with a 13.45, the third-best time in program history.
The final Hawkeye in the trials is Josh Braverman, who recently finished his senior season with a 13.69-second time in the 110-meter hurdles.
With everyone bringing their A-game, Mallet said it makes him raise the bar to make the Olympic team in Tokyo.
“Anyone that knows me and anybody who’s been following me for a couple of years knows how much this sport means to me and how much I can put into it,” Mallet said. “And I’m honestly super confident that I can [make the team].”