Zelinka stages upset win in women’s 100-metre hurdles at Olympic trials while Felicien disqualified and Lopes-Schliep fails to qualify for London Games

No one saw this coming.

After letting out a shriek of joy Jessica Zelinka summed up the confusion and heartbreak that unfolded in the wake of a stunning women's 100-metre hurdles final at the Canadian Track and Field Trials Saturday.

"There was no good outcome really,'' said Zelinka, Canada's top hepthalon athlete who staged an upset victory in the most anticipated race of the Olympic trials.

Zelinka's win, in a personal best time of 12.68 seconds, was a surprise. The shock is that neither Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Olympics, nor Perdita Felicien, a 2003 world champion looking for one last shot at Olympic glory, will be going to the London Games.

This wasn't one of the scenarios tossed around in the lead up to the race. How it all unfolded threatened to turn drama into a calamity.

Felicien's fate was sealed even before the race when she was disqualified for a false start. She ran under protest, and finished third, a result that would have sent her to London.

[Photo Gallery: Jessica Zelinka wins 100-metre hurdles at Olympic Trials]

She appealed the disqualification, arguing the starter failed to control the crowd noise. After waiting about 45 minutes in a cold rain she learned the appeal was denied.

"I got the short end of the stick today,'' said Felicien. "No excuses. My fault.''

Lopes-Schliep, who came into the trials with the fastest time of the six women who reached the qualifying standard, hit a hurdle and finished fifth in a snail's pace time of 13.17 seconds.

"Damn hurdle seven,'' she said, managing a little humour on a very frustrating day. "It's a hurdle race, and unfortunately I hit a hurdle really hard and I wasn't able to recover from it. It's disappointing. You want to give your best.''

In a perfect world Zelinka, Lopes-Schliep and Felicien all would have gone to the Games. Lopes-Schliep, of Whitby, Ont., would have run after giving birth to a daughter in September. Felicien, of Pickering, Ont., could have chased the medal that eluded her when she fell at the 2004 Games then suffered a foot injury that kept her from competing in 2008.

That's not going to happen. Instead it will be Phylicia George of Markham, Ont., who placed second in 12.72 seconds. Nikkita Holder of Pickering, who originally was fourth in 12.80, bumped up into third place.

Zelinka has gone from the woman with an outside chance to run the hurdles at the Olympics to someone with the chance for the top Canadian result in the race.

"I knew I could run like that,'' said the 30-year-old from London, Ont., who has a three-year-old daughter. "I knew I could be mentally strong and just do my own race. That time was super amazing.''

Victory didn't come without angst for Zelinka. The hurdles begin in London two days after she completes the gruelling seven-event heptathlon. Will she be too sore and beat up from the two-day event to be competitive in the hurdles?

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Zelinka had the option of telling Athletics Canada she wouldn't race the hurdles. That would have opened the door for her good friend Angela Whyte to go to London.

In the end reason overcome emotion, said her coach Les Gramantik.

"She won the championship, she earned the right,'' said Gramantik. "She will do it.

"If she had struggled and been in third place here I would have said 'Jes, let's not worry about this.' But realistically, she showed superiority here against some of the best in the world.''

Zelinka knows her future but Lopes-Schliep and Felicien face different paths.

Only 29, Lopes-Schliep has the potential to race at the next Games in Rio.

"I'm a very serious competitor, very determined,'' she said. "We'll see what the future holds.''

The road is more uncertain for Felicien. She's 31 and has a history of injuries.

"Are you writing me off or something?'' Felicien said with a smile when asked about another Olympics. "Should I write my track obit or something? It's a fair question.

"I've never imagined not being at the London Games. Obviously this is not the result I wanted. I'm not going to lie and say I feel good about it. It's a fate that I held in my hand. What's next? I don't know. But I'm going to still hold onto the dream . . . hope for the next race to be better than the last one. I'll just go home and sleep and see what happens tomorrow.''

No matter what happens at London, not matter how well Zelinka, George or Holder perform, people will always wonder what if?

What if Felicien hadn't false started. What if Lopes-Schliep hadn't hit a hurdle.

No one saw this coming.

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