McLeod Unrivaled
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No. 1 in the preliminary and semifinal rounds of the 110-meter hurdle competition, Omar McLeod proved to be unrivaled in the international meeting of the world’s best, sprinting to first place in the final section of the event in his Olympic debut with a time of 13.05 seconds.
He is the third Razorback, joining Michael Conley (Barcelona, ’92) and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Athens, ’04 and Beijing ’08) to ever win an Olympic gold and the first to do so since Campbell-Brown’s 200 victory at the 2008 games in Beijing.
McLeod is also the third member of Jamaica’s athletics delegation to earn a spot on top of the podium, joining the elite company of Usain Bolt (100) and Elaine Thompson (100). One of the most dominant hurdlers in NCAA history McLeod is the countries’ first gold medalist in the event.
Improving his speed through each round, McLeod proved unaffected by the preliminary competition’s torrential downpours, slicing through the rain with a powerful lead to cross the finish in 13.27. As the weather conditions improved, so did McLeod, taking advantage of the increased clarity and dry surface to clean up his race execution in the semifinals by coming through in 13.15.
Lining up in lane five for the final track and field event of the day McLeod gave the audience a reason to cheer, besting the event’s runner up by .12 seconds as he closed his first Olympic outing with a gold medal-meriting performance.
With his March World Indoor Championship 60 hurdle gold and Olympic triumph in the 110 hurdles, McLeod has successfully completed the world high-hurdle sweep.
Pole Vault U
In field action Arkansas advanced two of three pole vaulters including Sandi Morris and Tina Sutej out of the qualifying round and into the final section of the competition.
Morris and Sutej both had perfect days, clearing every height on their first attempts through the required 4.55m/14-11. Their lack of misses secured the places in Friday’s 12-person final.
Razorback freshman Lexi Weeks finished her phenomenal season inside the world top-20 with a final clearance of 4.45m/14-7 1/4.
Results – Day 11
110 Hurdles semifinal
Omar McLeod (1) – 13.15
110 Hurdles final
Omar McLeod (1) – 13.05
W Pole Vault
Sandi Morris (8) – 4.55m/14-11
Tina Sutej (8) – 4.55m/14-11
Next Three Days:
Wednesday, Aug. 17
8:05 a.m. – Men’s 5,000m (heats) – Kemoy Campbell, Jamaica (NBCSN)
8:55 a.m. – Women’s 800m (heats) – Chrishuna Williams, USA (NBCSN)
Thursday, Aug. 18
9:20 a.m. – Women’s 4x100m (heats) – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica relay pool (NBC & NBCSN)
9:40 a.m. – Men’s 4x100m (heats) – Tyson Gay, USA relay pool (NBC & NBCSN)
7:15 p.m. – Women’s 800m (semifinal) – Chrishuna Williams, USA (NBC)
Friday, Aug. 19
6:30 p.m. – Women’s Pole Vault (final) – Sandi Morris, USA and Tina Sutej, Slovenia (NBC)
6:40 p.m. – Women’s 4x400m (heats) – Taylor Ellis-Watson, USA relay pool (NBC)
8:15 p.m. – Women’s 4x100m (final) – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica relay pool (NBC)
8:35 p.m. – Men’s 4x100m (final) – Tyson Gay, USA relay pool (NBC)
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
