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<p><strong>By Mike McCombs</strong></p>
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<p>There was almost a third athlete with Beaufort ties headed to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, but it wasn’t to be.</p>
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<p>Beaufort’s Michael Dickson reached the finals of the 110-meter hurdles Saturday night at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., but he finished sixth, failing to make the U.S. Olympic Team.</p>
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<p>The Beaufort High School graduate and former track athlete at North Carolina A&amp;T would have joined weightlifters C.J. Cummings and Mahassen Hala. Cummings, a Beaufort native, will compete fot eh U.S. in the 73kg weight class, while Hala, who trains with Coach Ray Jones in Beaufort, will be the first female Olympic weightlifter in Lebanon’s history.</p>
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<p>Dickson finished third in his semifinal heat with a time of 13.29 to qualify for the final. He ran a 13.34 in the final. Grant Holloway, Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts claimed the three Olympic spots for Team USA.</p>
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<p>“We are very proud of you Michael Dickson. You represented Beaufort High and Beaufort SC, very well in your first Olympic Trials. Great job!!!!” Beaufort High School Boys Track and Field Coach Reggie Jones posted Saturday night on Facebook.</p>
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<p>Dickson was a two-time state champion for Jones at Beaufort High before running for Head Coach Duane Ross from 2016 to 2019 at N.C. A&amp;T, where he earned first-team All-America honors twice in the 4x100-meter relay and the 100-meter hurdles and won five MEAC championships. He represented the U.S. in the fall of 2019 in The Match track meet in Europe.</p>
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<p>Former Whale Branch Early College High School principal and current Beaufort County School District Executive Director Mona Lise Dickson and Charles Dickson are Michael Dickson’s parents.</p>
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<p><em>Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.</em></p>
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