BATON ROUGE — Three current members of the LSU track and field team and four former members will head to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the IAAF World Championships, which run from Friday through Aug. 12.
The 2001 NCAA triple jump champion and current Tiger Walter Davis will compete for the United States in his signature event beginning with qualifying rounds on Saturday. For Davis, it marks his second major international competition, as the Leonville, La., native finished 12th at the Sydney Olympics last summer.
NCAA 400-meter runner-up and current Tiger Alleyne Francique will compete in the 400-meter dash field at the World Championships. Francique will compete in the quarter for his native Grenada with preliminary action getting underway on Sunday.
Current LSU All-American Claston Bernard returns to compete in his first full decathlon since suffering a hamstring at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. Bernard, a three-time SEC champion and 2000 Olympian preparing for his senior season at LSU, will compete for his native Jamaica. The two-day decathlon begins on Monday.
Bernard’s former LSU teammates Derrick Brew and Russ Buller will also be on hand, both competing for the United States. Brew, a two-time SEC champion while at LSU, finished fourth in the 400-meter dash at the USA Track & Field Championships in June and will compete on the American 4×400-meter relay squad in Edmonton.
Buller finished fourth in the pole vault at the USA Championships, but was added to the American roster when 2000 Olympic silver medallist Lawrence Johnson was forced to withdraw from the World Championships with a stress fracture in his right femur. It will be the first major international competition for the 2000 NCAA indoor and outdoor pole vault champion.
A pair of former Lady Tiger national champions will be on hand competing for Jamaica. 1997 NCAA 100-hurdles champion Astia Walker will compete in the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay. Prelims of the 100-meter dash begin on Saturday, while the relays will be contested on the final weekend of competition.
The 1993 and 1994 NCAA 400-meter hurdles champion Debbie Parris will look to continue a hot summer in her signature event. Parris enters the World Championships ranked second in the world in the Grand Prix standings in the 400-meter hurdles. Prelims for the 400-meter hurdles begin on Sunday morning.