South Carolina's Nyck Harbor won't compete at U.S. Olympic Trials after all
South Carolina dual-sport athlete Nyck Harbor won’t compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials after all.
The former five-star football recruit and viral track sensation qualified in the 200m dash to compete in this week’s trials for a chance to go to next month’s Olympics — but as the Post and Courier’s David Cloninger reported and South Carolina confirmed to On3, Harbor will instead turn his attention to the upcoming football season.
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“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.”
While Harbor’s outdoor track season has now come to a close, it was still a phenomenal first year in the garnet and black.
Harbor, considered one of the most talented track performers to ever sign with South Carolina due to his unique blend of size (6-foot-5, 242-pounds) and speed, immediately transitioned from football season to indoor track to outdoor track, missing the on-field portion of spring football practice in the process.
In last month’s NCAA East Regionals, he ran a personal best and University of South Carolina record 20.20-second 200-meter dash, securing a spot in the nationals and qualifying him for the Olympic Trials.
His personal best 10.11 seconds in the 100-meter at the same event also qualified him for nationals.
Making his nationals debut two weeks ago, Harbor took part in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints.
Running the 100m first, Harbor finished fifth in his heat, and 16th overall out of 24 sprinters, after running 10.30.
Needing to come in the top-nine in the 200m to qualify for a spot in Friday’s finals, Harbor ran 20.32 in Heat 2. But in heartbreaking fashion, in the final heat, Arkansas’ Lance Lang earned the ninth and final spot after running 20.31. Harbor’s performances earned him Second Team All-American honors in both events.
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The dual-sport athlete caught 12 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman for Beamer’s football program in 2023. He was the highest-ranked prospect for the Gamecocks’ 2023 recruiting class and returns as one of South Carolina’s most product wide receivers. The On3 Industry Ranking – a weighted average of all four major recruiting services – rated Harbor as the 21st-best football prospect in the country and as the nation’s number-one athlete.
GamecockCentral’s Mike Uva contributed to this article.
