Olympic Hogs Pursue Glory

Complete @RazorbackTF Event/TV Schedule

RIO DE JANEIRO – Fourteen current and former members of Arkansas men’s and women’s track and field program will pursue glory for their individual countries at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with athletics competition beginning on Friday, Aug. 12.

Opening Ceremonies for the Rio Olympics will air tonight on NBC at 6:30 p.m. CDT on a one-hour tape delay.

Arkansas at the Olympics by the numbers (complete list at the bottom)
• 13 – Medals earned at the Games
• 12 – Different event entries in 2016
• 10 – Razorback NCAA National Champions in Rio
• 9 – Streak of Olympic Games with Arkansas track and field representation
• 6 – Members of coaching staff with one or more athletes competing
• 5 – Most medals won at one Olympic Games
• 3 – 2016 World Leaders

Up First
Recent graduates Jarrion Lawson (long jump) and Dominique Scott (10K) will be the first to take the stage at the Olympic Stadium next Friday for Team USA and Team South Africa, respectively.

Lawson ranks No. 1 in the world this season off his personal-best performance of 8.58m/28-1 1/2 which he marked at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Scott heads into the 10K among the top-30 best performers this year and she will look to improve upon her current PR of 31 minutes, 56.84 seconds in the event.

Marathoner Christine Kalmer will take her turn on Sunday, Aug. 14, racing 26.2 miles for South Africa alongside the world’s most elite distance runners.

Razorback Islanders
The Jamaican and Trini Arkansas contingent including Kemoy Campbell (5K), Veronica Campbell-Brown (200, 400 relay), Omar McLeod (110 hurdles), Sparkle McKnight (400 hurdles) and Clive Pullen (triple jump) kick off competition the week of Aug. 15 with qualifying rounds in their respective events.

Like his former Arkansas teammate Lawson, McLeod also leads the world in his event as the only hurdler to clock a time under 13 seconds (12.98) in the 110-meter hurdles this year. A strong candidate for an Olympic medal, McLeod enters Rio as the reigning World Indoor Champion in the 60 hurdles.

While most of Arkansas’ Olympic entries are first-year competitors, the most decorated Razorback Olympian, Campbell-Brown, will attempt to add two more medals to her collection of seven.

Triple Threat
The Razorbacks will have three chances at a medal in the pole vault which will feature three former and current NCAA Champions in Sandi Morris (USA), Tina Sutej (Slovenia) and Lexi Weeks (USA).

Morris is Arkansas’ third world leader, heading into the event with a personal best of 4.93m/16-2 (American record) which she vaulted this past July at the American Track League meet in Houston. Sutej and Weeks both have PR clearances of 4.70m/15-5 or better.

USA and Relays
A two-time NCAA champion with Arkansas’ 1,600 and DMR relay teams, Chrishuna Williams will seek solo success for Team USA in the 800, racing the qualifying rounds on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

Fellow Team USA delegates Taylor Ellis-Watson and Tyson Gay head to Rio as contributing members of the women’s 4-x-400 and men’s 4-x-100 relay teams, respectively. Both narrowly missing individual berths in the 400 and 100 open races, Ellis-Watson and Gay rank inside the top-20 in the world – the former in ninth with a quarter-mile best of 50.25.

Reference:
Total Medals 13: 4 Gold, 5 Silver, 4 Bronze
• Veronica Campbell-Brown (100, 200, 400 relay, Jamaica): 7 | 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
• Mike Conley (TJ, USA): 2 | 1 Gold, 1 Silver
• Calvin Davis (400H, USA): 1 | 1 Bronze
• Matt Hemingway (HJ, USA): 1 | 1 Silver
• Deena Kastor (Marathon, USA) 1 | 1 Bronze
• Clyde Scott (110H, USA): 1 | 1 Silver

12 Different Event Entries: 200, 800, 5K, 10K, 110H, 400H, 4-x-100, 4-x-400, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and marathon.

10 NCAA National Champions:

9 Streak of Olympic Games with Arkansas track and field representation
• 1984: 3 | MTR – 3
• 1988: 5 | MTR – 5
• 1992: 8 | MTR – 8
• 1996: 9 | MTR – 9
• 2000: 8 | MTR – 6 WTR – 2
• 2004: 8 | MTR – 4 WTR – 4
• 2008: 9 | MTR – 3 WTR – 6
• 2012: 12 | MTR – 7 WTR – 5
• 2016: 14 | MTR – 5 WTR – 9

6 Members of the coaching staff with one or more athletes competing (All current coaches)

5 Most medals won at one Olympics
2004: Veronica Campbell-Brown – 100 bronze, 200 gold, 4-x-100 gold | Deena Kastor – Marathon bronze | Matt Hemingway – high jump silver

3 World Leaders
• Jarrion Lawson (long jump) – 8.58m/28-1 3/4
• Omar McLeod (110H) – 12.98
• Sandi Morris (pole vault) – 4.93m/16-2

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