Morris Shines Under London Lights
LONDON – United States Olympian Sandi Morris added to her championship medal collection on Sunday evening, following a runner-up finish in the pole vault at the 2017 IAAF World meet in London.
Morris captured the pole vault silver off a best clearance of 4.75m/15-7. The three-time USATF gold medalist was perfect in attempts up to the aforementioned height before bowing out of the competition after a couple good tries at 4.89m/16-0 1/2.
“I really felt confident coming into this event and I have had some really great jumps,” Morris said. “I am proud of my jumping today. I knew that if I wanted to win the gold medal I would have to jump something very big because she [Ekaterini Stafanidi of Greece] was very consistent. And she did what I expected. I was just hoping I could put it a bit more on that 90.”
Morris is only the second Razorback to ever medal at the world championships, joining sprint legend Veronica Campbell-Brown on that short list. Campbell-Brown, whose 2017 season was cut short due to injury, won a gold (4-x-100-meter relay) and bronze (200 meters) medal at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.
Arkansas World Championships Medalists (Chronological)
• 2005: Veronica Campbell-Brown (100m – Silver, 4-x-100m – Silver)
• 2007: Veronica Campbell-Brown (100m – Gold, 200m – Silver, 4-x-100m – Silver)
• 2009: Veronica Campbell-Brown (200m – Silver)
• 2011: Veronica Campbell-Brown (200m – Gold, 100m – Silver, 4-x-100m – Silver)
• 2015: Veronica Campbell-Brown (4-x-100m – Gold, 200m – Bronze)
• 2017: Sandi Morris (Pole Vault – Silver)
“I am definitely happy with my medal and that will drive me on for the gold in Tokyo,” Morris said. “My season is not over I still have a couple of meets, in Birmingham and Brussels and Zurich. I would not be surprised if it gives me a drive to jump five meters like I did last year in Brussels after I was silver in Rio.”
ICYMI! @sandicheekspv reached for the sky to bring home SILVER in the women's pole vault at #London2017! Well done!
👉https://t.co/XMlMha5gKC pic.twitter.com/RZ7VMNSfjk— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 6, 2017
Up Next
ProHog Sparkle McKnight will look to advance out of the 400-meter hurdles preliminary round tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. CT.
“This is my third world champs,” McKnight said.”Last world champs I made the semifinals, so I’m going to make the finals and nothing but that. I’m just taking it one round at a time and focusing on the next round when it comes. I’m just excited to be here.”
World championships coverage will begin at 12 p.m. CT on NBC Sports. Fans can also follow the live results 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 Worlds Qualifiers Championships Schedule | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time (CT) | Athlete (Country) | Event (Round) | Results | Watch Live |
| Friday, Aug. 4 | 1:30 p.m. | Jarrion Lawson (USA) | Men's Long Jump (Qualifiers) | 6. 8.05m/26-5 Q | Streaming: NBC Sports Gold* |
| 1:45 p.m. | Sandi Morris (USA) | Women's Pole Vault (Qualifiers) | 2. 4.55m/4-11 1/4 Q | Streaming: NBC Sports Gold* | |
| 1:45 p.m. | Tina Sutej (SLO) | Women's Pole Vault (Qualifiers) | 15. 4.35m/14-3 1/4 | Streaming: NBC Sports Gold* | |
| Saturday, Aug. 5 | 5:00 a.m. | Tamara Myers (BAH) | Women's Triple Jump (Qualifiers) | 24. 13.41m/44-0 | NBCSN |
| 2:05 p.m. | Jarrion Lawson (USA) | Men' Long Jump (Finals)% | 2. 8.44m/27-8 1/4 | NBC | |
| Sunday, Aug. 6 | 4:05 a.m. | Stanley Kebenei (USA) | Men's Steeplechase (Heats) | 12. 8:24.19 Q | NBCSN |
| 4:40 a.m. | Andrew Irwin (USA) | Men's Pole Vault (Qualifiers) | 15. 5.60m/18-4 1/2 | NBCSN | |
| 5:05 a.m. | Kemar Mowatt (JAM) | Men's 400 Meter Hurdles (Heats) | 22. 50.00 | NBCSN | |
| 7:15 a.m. | Omar McLeod (JAM) | Men's 110 Meter Hurdles (Heats) | 2. 13.23 Q | NBCSN | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Sandi Morris (USA) | Women's Pole Vault (Finals)% | 2. 4.75m/15-7 | NBC | |
| 2:10 p.m. | Omar McLeod (JAM) | Men's 110 Meter Hurdles (Semifinals)% | 1. 13.10 Q | NBC | |
| Monday, Aug. 7 | 12:35 p.m. | Clive Pullen (JAM) | Men's Triple Jump (Qualifiers) | 30. 15.61m/51-2 3/4 | Streaming: NBC Sports Gold* |
| 1:30 p.m. | Sparkle McKnight (TT) | Women's 400 Meter Hurdles (Heats) | 11. 55.46 Q | NBCSN | |
| 2:20 p.m. | Kemar Mowatt (JAM) | Men's 400 Meter Hurdles (Semifinals)% | 4. 48.66 Q | NBCSN | |
| 3:30 p.m. | Omar McLeod (JAM) | Men's 110 Meter Hurdles (Finals)% | 1. 13.04 | NBCSN | |
| Tuesday, Aug. 8 | 2:35 p.m. | Sparkle McKnight (TT) | Women's 400 Meter Hurdles (Semifinals)% | 19. 56.59 | NBCSN |
| 3:10 p.m. | Stanley Kebenei (USA) | Men's Steeplechase (Finals)% | 5. 8:21.09 | NBCSN | |
| Wednesday, Aug. 9 | 2:05 p.m. | Kemoy Campbell (JAM) | Men's 5,000 Meters (Heats) | 9. 13:26.67 | NBCSN |
| 3:30 p.m. | Kemar Mowatt (JAM) | Men's 400 Meter Hurdles (Finals)% | 4. 48.99 | NBCSN | |
| Saturday, Aug. 12 | 4:55 a.m. | Omar McLeod (JAM) | Men's 4-x-100 Meter Relay (Heats) | 3. 37.95 Q | NBCSN |
| 2:20 p.m. | Kemoy Campbell (JAM) | Men's 5,000 Meters (Finals)% | 10. 13:39.74 | NBC | |
| 3:50 p.m. | Omar McLeod (JAM) | Men's 4-x-100 Meter Relay (Finals)% | DNF | NBC | |
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
