From SEC Champion To Fourth In The World

LONDON – Arkansas men’s track and field assistant coach Doug Case said on Monday that rising senior Kemar Mowatt could shake things up in the 400-meter hurdles finals at the 2017 IAAF World Championships (Worlds) in London — he was not wrong.

The 2017 Southeastern Conference 400 hurdle champion finished just shy of the Worlds podium, placing fourth in 48.99 on a cold and wet Wednesday evening at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

“I’d hoped to do better,” Mowatt said. “But fourth place, I can’t complain.”

A 2015 transfer from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Mowatt joined the Razorbacks with a personal best of 51.13 in the 400 hurdles. Over the last two years of training under coach Case, Mowatt has improved by 2.64 seconds, developing from a consistent 51-second hurdler to a consistent 48-second hurdler.

BIG run by 22 year old Kemar Mowatt 🇯🇲 in Men's 400M Hurdles Final! He finished 4th in 48.99. #WorldChamps2017 pic.twitter.com/CswZo2a5tR

— Team Jamaica (@TeamJA876) August 9, 2017

One of only two collegians to make it to the event finals, Mowatt refused to let his long competition season define his race. The 2017 NCAA bronze medalist glided through the rain, attacking every hurdle in an effort to close on the race leaders but fell .47 seconds short in his quest for a medal.

“Honestly, I thought I could’ve won that race but it didn’t go as I’d wanted it to go,” Mowatt said. “I’m just grateful because a lot of people didn’t make it to finals so I should be thankful.”

Up Next
110-meter hurdles World Champion Omar McLeod will take on the 4-x-100-meter relay preliminary round as a member of Team Jamaica. The 4-x-100 relay prelims will be held on Saturday, Aug. 12 at 4:55 a.m. CT. If Team Jamaica advances out of the prelims, McLeod will race for his second gold of the week later that day at 3:50 p.m.

Fellow Jamaican ProHog Kemoy Campbell will look to collect a medal of his own that same day; taking on the 5,000 meter finals at 2:20 p.m., Campbell is the first Jamaican to qualify for a world championships final in the 5,000.

“I went out there and treated it was like it was a final even though I know I’m going to have run much, much harder in the final,” Campbell said. “I’m definitely prepared for that and I definitely think I did what I was supposed to.”

Fans can also follow the live results from Worlds HERE.

Date: Aug. 4-13
Venue: London Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Important Link: Meet Central (Schedule, Live Results, IAAF Radio and Athlete Stats)
Broadcast Schedule: NBC (see table below)

Arkansas Entries (12)
• Bahamas – Tamara Myers (Triple Jump)
• Jamaica – Kemoy Campbell (5,000), Omar McLeod (110mH), Kemar Mowatt (400mH) and Clive Pullen (Triple Jump)
• Slovenia – Tina Sutej (Pole Vault)
• Trinidad & Tobago – Sparkle McKnight (400mH)
• USA – Daina Harper (4-x-400m Relay), Andrew Irwin (Pole Vault), Stanley Kebenei (Steeplechase), Jarrion Lawson (Long Jump) and Sandi Morris (Pole Vault)

Arkansas World Championships Medalists (Chronological)
• 1983: Mike Conley (Long Jump – Bronze)
• 1987: Mike Conley (Triple Jump – Silver), Roddie Haley (4-x-400m Relay – Gold)
• 1991: Mike Conley (Triple Jump – Bronze)
• 1993: Mike Conley (Triple Jump – Gold)
• 1997: Erick Walder (Long Jump – Silver)
• 2005: Wallace Spearmon Jr. (200m – Silver)
• 2007: Tyson Gay (100m – Gold, 200m – Gold, 4-x-100m Relay – Gold), Wallace Spearmon Jr. (200m – Bronze, 4-x-100m Relay – Gold)
• 2009: Tyson Gay (100m – Silver), Wallace Spearmon Jr. (200m – Bronze)
• 2017: Jarrion Lawson (Long Jump – Silver), Omar McLeod (110mH – Gold)

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.