Olympic berth slips away from Ketchikan’s Isaac Updike on final lap

A slight stumble on the final water jump doused Alaska steeplechaser Isaac Updike’s bid for a Summer Olympics berth Friday at the U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field.

Updike, a 29-year-old from Ketchikan, seized the lead as the final lap of the race began, putting himself 400 meters from a trip to the Tokyo Olympics.

He was in third place and still in Olympic contention at the final turn, 200 meters from the finish line. Then came the final water jump , where he lost momentum with a small misstep upon landing in the pit.

He finished fifth. The top three finishers earned spots on the Olympic team.

Hillary Bor — the man Updike dueled and defeated in a swift semifinal heat on Monday — won the race in 8 minutes, 21.34 seconds. Benard Keter was next in 8:21.81, followed by Mason Ferlic in 8:22.05.

Updike trailed in 8:24.72.

The race was slower than Updike’s Monday heat, which he won in 8:21.01. Runners stayed in a pack for much of the race, with Updike holding down fourth or fifth place much of the time.

It wasn’t until after the 7-minute mark that a lead pack, including Updike, broke away. By the bell lap, Updike was in the lead and looking good.

The race marked Updike’s second appearance in the steeplechase finals at the Olympic Trials. In 2016, he placed 12th.

Since then, Updike has relocated from Eugene to New York, where he’s part of the Empire Elite Track Club in Westchester County, a new team with no major sponsor yet. Updike’s individual contract with Hoka One One expired earlier this season, so he’s also without a major sponsor. He worked as a middle school and high school teacher and coach last year in New York to help finance his current season, and in late April he ran a 8:17.74 that made him a favorite coming into Eugene.

Updike was trying to become the third Alaskan to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

Eagle River’s Alev Kelter is set to make her second appearance as a member of the U.S. women’s rugby 7s team, and Seward’s Lydia Jacoby is first Alaskan to make the swim team.

Allie Ostrander of Kenai will make her final attempt for a spot in Tokyo on Saturday when she runs the women’s 10,000 meters. Earlier in the week, she posted a big personal-best in the steeplechase finals while finishing eighth.