Taking Stock

Which runners are peaking, which are floundering and which ones are just running in place as the Games draw closer

BUY

SANYA RICHARDS-ROSS

USA

Already the world leader in the 400 (49.39), the wife of Jaguars cornerback Aaron Ross may be the fastest in the family after trouncing the 200 field in a world-leading 22.09 last Saturday. Richards-Ross may run both at the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month.

LUGUELÍN SANTOS

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Why is he running track? "No me gusta beisbol," says Santos. Just 18, he is the second-fastest quarter-miler in the world this year. With a personal best of 44.45, Santos is more precocious in the event than was a former prodigy 400 runner, name of Bolt.

BERNARD LAGAT

USA

The 37-year-old Kenyan-born American no longer has the raw speed for the 1,500 meters that he did when he took bronze in Sydney in '00, nor when he took silver in Athens in '04, but he outkicked the 1,500 field on Saturday. Now targeting the 5,000 meters, he'll have speed to burn.

TIRUNESH DIBABA

ETHIOPIA

After winning both the 5,000 and the 10,000 at Beijing, Dibaba became a superstar at home. (Her wedding to two-time Olympic 10,000 silver medalist Sileshi Sihine aired on Ethiopian TV.) After missing most of 2011 with shin splints, she won the 5,000 easily in 14:50.80 on Saturday.

HOLD

TYSON GAY

USA

After a year off from running that included two hip surgeries, Gay dominated the B heat of the 100 in 10.0 seconds into a headwind. Slow by his standards, but it was his first meet since June 2011. Did he feel any pain in his hip during his race? "No, sir," Gay said.

CARMELITA JETER

USA

Jeter, 32, was the dominant 100-meter sprinter from 2009—when she ran 10.64, second only to Florence Griffith Joyner—to '11. Her 10.81 on May 5 is still a '12 world leader, but Jeter took third on Saturday in 11.05, her third straight race on the wrong side of 11 seconds.

ROBBY ANDREWS

USA

After winning the 2011 NCAA 800-meter title, Andrews gave up his final two years of eligibility at Virginia. In his first pro race, on Saturday, he finished fifth in 1:45.06. He has the late-kicking style that often works well in tactical races, like those at the Olympic trials.

DAVID OLIVER

USA

The Beijing bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdles hasn't returned to his 2010 form, when he set the American record in 12.89. On Saturday, after three false starts by other runners, Oliver was left in the blocks and took fourth in 13.37. But he still ranks fourth in the world and second in the U.S.

SELL

OSCAR PISTORIUS

SOUTH AFRICA

The Blade Runner became the first amputee to run in the able-bodied world championships last year. Pistorius finished seventh in 46.14 on Saturday and has to run 45.3 or better by the end of June to make South Africa's Olympic team. He hasn't been under 46 since March.

ALAN WEBB

USA

The onetime wunderkind—in '01 he set the American high school mile record at 3:53.43—delivered on his promise in '07 with an American mile record (3:46.91). But he was never in contention in the 1,500 on Saturday and drifted back to 11th.

JEREMY WARINER

USA

Wariner, 28, won the '04 Olympic 400 meters when he was a sophomore in college, and over the next three years inched toward Michael Johnson's world record (43.18). He finished second on Saturday, but in 45.30, a far cry from his '07 best of 43.45. He will have to fight to make the team for London.

DANIEL BAILEY

ANTIGUA

Bolt and Blake aren't the only thoroughbreds in coach Glen Mills's stable. Bailey, another top Caribbean sprinter whose best time in the 100 is 9.91, trains with the Jamaican duo in Kingston. But his 10.20 on Saturday looked pedestrian, particularly with the tailwind factored in.

THREE PHOTOS

HEINZ KLUETMEIER