Freedom High graduate and University of Florida sophomore Calvin Smith (center) leans out Darold Williamson (left) and Greg Nixon for fifth place in the 400-meter finals at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Photo by David J. Biesack.

This just in for our correspondent, Patrick O’Neill, at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Things were not looking good for Florida sophomore Calvin Smith as he came off the last curve in Thursday night’s 400-meter final at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Struggling in last place, the 20-year-old Freedom High graduate turned into the home stretch in last place looking as if he’d lost contact with the field that included some of the top 400 runners on planet Earth.

Then something happened. While the Hayward Field crowd was watching to see if 2004 Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner would be able to run down eventual winner LeShawn Merritt, Smith dug deep, and started to kick.

In a flash, Smith went from eighth to fifth, a finish that likely means Smith will be selected for the 1,600-meter relay pool in Beijing.

“I was definitely worried, but I just kept saying in my head, ‘This is on TV, can’t get last, and I want to go to Beijing’ so I kept pumping,” he said. “I have all my friends and family watching back home and I didn’t want to let them down, nor did I want to let myself down, so I found a piece of that in my heart and just kept working.”

Merritt won in a time of 44.00, with Wariner second (44.20). Smith was fifth in 45.57, just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Darold Williamson (45.58) in sixth.

Smith and Gators coach Mike Holloway had discussed several scenarios for the final. Making top three was the foremost goal, but in the 400, unlike most events where only the top three go to the Games, any runner in the final has a shot at being selected to run on the 1,600 relay squad.

“Like I told Cal, the higher he places the better chance he has to run in the relay,” Holloway said. With a fifth-place finish, Holloway told Smith he did what was necessary to get to Beijing.

“He told me they’re taking top six (to Beijing),” Smith said.

Minutes after the final, fourth-place finisher Reggie Witherspoon (45.01) was celebrating with Smith. “You’re going to Beijing Cal, going to Beijing,” he said.

Friday morning, Holloway said he confirmed Smith will be part of the US Olympic relay pool, although that is no guarantee he will get to run a leg in the Games.

After his race, Smith said he was hoping to take a week or more off because he was tired of running. “That’s not an option,” Holloway said. “If he wants to be part of the relay team in Beijing he has to show the coaches he’s ready to run.”