KINGSTON, Jamaica — The LSU track and field teams have dominated the 400-meter hurdles at the collegiate level in recent years, and they look to take it one step further after former Tiger Isa Phillips and junior Nickiesha Wilson qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games on Saturday.
Phillips and Wilson will proudly fly the flag of their native Jamaica in Beijing, China, in August after each finishing runner-up in the 400 hurdles Saturday at the Jamaican National Senior Track and Field Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston.
They also add to the LSU contingent that will compete at the Olympic Games, joining the likes of former Lady Tiger Muna Lee and seniors Kelly Baptiste and Richard Thompson.
After clocking a seasonal best with the fastest prelim qualifying time of 48.78 seconds on Friday, Phillips crossed the finish line in second place in the final with a time of 49.08 despite blasting the 10th and final hurdle of the race. Wilson, who was the fourth-place finisher in the 400 hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, a year ago, raced to a runner-up finish of her own with a time of 54.74 in her only race of the meet.
This marks the first time in both of their careers that Phillips and Wilson will represent Jamaica at the Olympic Games after earning World Championship experience last summer.
The top three finishers in each event that have met the Olympic “A” qualifying standard will wear the black, green and gold of Jamaica at the Olympic Games. The “A” qualifying standard for the men’s 400 hurdles is 49.20, and the “A” qualifying standard for the women is 55.60.
Despite earning a runner-up finish in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 9 ? inches on Saturday evening, Lady Tiger senior Andrea Linton is not eligible for the Olympic Games as she has yet to post the necessary qualifying mark of 46-7 ? to compete for Jamaica.
Three other current and former LSU athletes also saw their Olympic dream come to an end during Saturday’s action as sophomore Samantha Henry and Lady Tiger great Peta-Gaye Dowdie failed to qualify for the 100-meter final, while former Tiger Pete Coley elected not to start the semifinal of the 400 meters after advancing through the quarterfinals on Friday. Henry finished ninth with a time of 11.43 with Dowdie placing 11th with a time of 11.58.