Nyck Harbor will not compete for Olympic bid at U.S. trials

South Carolina two-sport star Nyck Harbor will not compete at the U.S. Olympic trials this weekend, a South Carolina spokesperson has confirmed to On3. David Cloninger was the first to report the news.

Harbor had been set to compete for a spot in the 2024 Olympics, but he will now begin preparing for the 2024 college football season, instead.

“Coach [Tim] Hall and Nyck looked at the times he had been running compared to the times of some of the others — you obviously have NCAA competitors there, but also the professional guys — basically they determined that the best case scenario is he could maybe reach the semifinals,” South Carolina SID Steve Fink said. “But the chances of him making the finals were pretty slim, let alone making the actual team. And they kind of determined that the wear and tear on his body wasn’t worth it to do that at this time.

“To go ahead and give him a chance to get a little rest and recover before football gears up a little bit more. Kind of looking out for his best interest in the long-term here.”

Even though Nyck Harbor will not be competing for a spot in the Olympics, it was still an impressive season for the freshman. Harbor competed in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay team for the Gamecocks during the outdoor season.

Nyck Harbor earned second-team All-American honors in both the 100m and 200m.

As for the football field, expectations are high for Harbor entering his sophomore season.

The 6-foot-5, 242-pound speedster played in all 12 games, while starting the final five. He finished the year with 12 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, despite receiving limited playing time.

Nyck Harbor signed with South Carolina after attending Archbishop Carroll High School. The Washington D.C. native played tight end and defensive end as a freshman in high school.

As a senior, he caught 15 passes for 439 yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, he recorded 45 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and blocked a pair of punts.

Harbor signed with South Carolina after being ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 21 overall player in the country in the class of 2023, per the On3 Industry rankings.

He will be counted on to be a big-time playmaker for the Gamecocks in 2024 as South Carolina looks to improve on its 5-7 record from a year ago.