Several former Gators tuned up for the Paris Olympics on a wet Percy Beard Track while the greatest track and field athlete in Gator history ended his career at the Holloway Pro Classic Friday night.
A one-hour rain delay left conditions slippery for the first field event of the night, the long jump. Former Gator Anna Hall, an Olympic medal favorite in the heptathlon, had hoped to improve on her seasonal best, but a slip on the first attempt that left scratches on the take-off board nixed any more jumps in the competition.
“Last year, when I hurt my knee, it was on a wet jump board, so that was kind of scary,” said Hall, who won the silver medal at the World Championship last year in the heptathlon on an injured left. The knee has required two surgeries.
“I slipped on the first attempt,” she said. “My coach [Nic Petersen] told me it was not worth it to risk injury right before the Olympics. It was a bit frustrating because I thought I was ready to have a season’s best.”
Hall returned in the 200-meter dash later on to improve on her seasonal best of 23.90 seconds with a fifth place 23.81.
“I was hoping to run a little bit faster, but considering the conditions, I was happy with it. My first 100 meters I finally did what Coach Holloway has been asking me to do. We’re not very fresh because we are training hard right now to prepare for Paris so I’m excited for what that might mean.”
Recent Florida grad, Grace Stark, continued her impressive postseason turning back a world-class field in the 100 that included three of the top five performers in history including world-record holder, Tobi Amusan, and American record holder, Keni Harrison, and this year’s US Olympic Trials winner, Masai Russell, to win in 12.58.
Two years ago, Stark fell in the SEC 100-meter hurdle final, which resulted in two surgeries to install and then remove a metal plate and seven screws for the tibial plateau fracture and torn meniscus in her left knee.
“They are such amazing girls,” said Stark of her victory in the first race since the Olympic Trials where she finished third. “Masai is my future teammate and Tobi has been an amazing inspiration of the last couple of years, so it was an amazing opportunity to race against them this year. There were a couple of delays and some false starts, but I tried to keep focus. I have a lot of pride running on my home track and I just wanted to come away with the win. I feel great. My body feels great, and I am super excited to go to Paris.”
Christian Taylor completed his career with much fanfare. The two-time Olympic Games and four-time World Championship gold medalist took his final triple jump as approximately 100 onlookers lined the runway to his surprise.
“I don’t like the limelight, so the nerves went to another level when everyone came down. I almost felt like I blacked out,” said Taylor. ”I was hearing the accolades and hearing about my journey so that made me very emotional to think about what I have been able to accomplish, the sacrifices and everything that you do to make your dreams come true. When I looked down and saw all the bodies at the end of the pit, it felt like I was jumping into a crowd of love. I’m so grateful for this experience and for the American Track League to end my career here.”
The 34-year-old will now look forward to his retirement from track and field to spend time with his family.
“I talk about the sacrifices you have to make,” he said. “You have to say no to so many things to reach your goals. Family has been put aside. I’ve lived abroad. Getting that quality family time is going to be so important to me.”
Other Gator highlights:
- Jasmine Moore finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 46-feet, 1.5-inches. Moore was the Olympic Trials winner and the American record holder and is currently ranked No. 13 in the world in the triple jump. She will also compete in the long jump where she is ranked No. 4 in the world. She is the first American to qualify in both the long jump and the triple jump.
- Malcolm Clemons, a rising senior, was a last-minute entry and leapt to a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a 25-0.
- Marquis Dendy finished sixth in the long jump with a 24-1.5 jump.
- In the 100, Joseph Fahnbulleh, Pjai Austin, and Wanya McCoy took second (10.00), third (10.06) and eighth place (10.21). Fahnbulleh will represent Liberia and Wnaya McCoy the Bahamas at the Paris Olympics.
- Jacory Patterson finished fourth in the 400 with a 45.02.
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