Campbell Moore Advance in 200 at Olympics

ATHENS, Greece – Former University of Arkansas Lady Razorback track athletes Veronica Campbell and LaShaunte’a Moore each advanced to the semifinals of the 200-meter dash at the games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece, on Monday.

Campbell, the bronze medalist in the 100-meter dash on Saturday, competed in her fifth and sixth races of the games and was phenomenal in her heats, winning both with solid times under 23 seconds. In the first round, Campbell and Moore shared a special moment as the former teammates and most recent departures from Arkansas competed in the first heat of the competition. Campbell did not show any wear from her 100 rounds as she crossed the line in 22.59 seconds to win the heat by a half second.

For Moore, the first round of the 200 was her first time on the Olympic Stadium track for competition and despite some understandable jitters; she also recorded an automatic qualifier when she finished third in the heat at 23.10.

“The Olympics this year have been tremendous for former University of Arkansas athletes,” Arkansas head coach Lance Harter said. “Veronica and Deena (Kastor) won bronze medals and then to have both Veronica and LaShaunte’a advance to the semifinals of the 200 is tremendous. We as a coaching staff and as a University are very proud of their accomplishments and hope that they continue to advance tomorrow.”

As the luck of the draw would have it, the pair would also be placed in the same second round heat and again the duo would lead off the competition. This time, Campbell looked even stronger in her race, accelerating through 60 meters before coasting to the finish with what would be the fastest second round time of the competition at 22.49. Moore looked much better in her second race of the Olympics, dropping 0.14 seconds off her preliminaries mark to cross the line fourth in her heat at 22.96 and pick up a qualifying mark for the semifinals based on her time.

Campbell and Moore each get to race in Tuesday’s semifinal action for a chance at an Olympic medal which is scheduled to be contested on Wednesday evening. Also on the track for Arkansas is former Lady Razorback Trine Pilskog of Norway who is scheduled to run in the 1,500-meter preliminaries. For more information about Lady Razorback track or about Arkansas athletics please go to www.ladybacks.com.