EUGENE, Ore. — All it took was one jump for LSU great Walter Davis to secure his spot in the triple jump final at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials after landing 55 feet, 3 inches from the board on his first jump of Friday’s qualifying round at historic Hayward Field.
Not only was it Davis’ first attempt in triple jump qualifying at this year’s Olympic trials, it also marked the first time this season that he has stepped onto the triple jump runway in any competition while nursing a hamstring injury that has kept him out of action for much of the year.
By eclipsing the automatic qualifying mark of 55-1 ? into Sunday’s triple jump final, Davis also redeemed himself after fouling on three attempts in long jump qualifying last weekend.
“I accomplished exactly what I wanted to do by just taking one jump and calling it a day,” Davis said. “The long jump was a little disappointing because I wanted to make the final, but everything happens for a reason. I was able to get a few jumps in and get used to the runway and not have the triple jump be my first competition. Now I can get some treatment and rest up for Sunday.”
A top-three finish in the finals of the triple jump would guarantee Davis a spot on the U.S. squad that will make the trip to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, as he has already met the Olympic “A” qualifying standard in the event with a mark of 56-11 ? a year ago.
Davis is looking to represent the United States for the third time at the Olympic Games as he has also competed in the triple jump in Sydney, Australia, in 2000 and Athens, Greece, in 2004.
Since earning an 11th-place finish in the triple jump at the 2004 Olympic Games, Davis has risen to the top of the sport after being crowned a two-time World Champion in the event at the 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia. He fell just short of defending his outdoor title a year ago as he won a bronze medal at the World Championship meet in Osaka, Japan.
After wrapping up his collegiate career in 2002 as a six-time NCAA champion and nine-time All-American for the Tigers, Davis has been unmatched by his fellow countrymen as he is also a five-time U.S. champion in the triple jump with two indoor and thee outdoor titles in six years.
“When you are a World Champion and have received many years of great coaching from Coach Boo (Schexnayder) and now Coach (Todd) Lane, technically you are prepared to perform when it counts the most,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “That is exactly what Walter did tonight. He has been preparing for this meet at LSU for the last month and has done a great job recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of competition. Hitting that first jump was big.”
Davis was not the only former LSU athlete to advance through the qualifying stages of this year’s Olympic Trials on Friday night as Xavier Carter, Stephanie Durst and Muna Lee each advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal round of the 200-meter dash.
Carter was the first to step onto the track and earned one of four automatic qualifying spots in his preliminary heat after crossing the finish line in 20.86 seconds.
Durst and Lee followed by finishing second in their respective heats as Durst clocked the eighth-fastest time of the qualifying round at 23.15 and Lee followed with the ninth-fastest time at 23.27. Lee has already earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team after winning the 100-meter title at this year’s trials with a personal best time of 10.85 in the final on June 28.
The quarterfinal round of the women’s 200 meters is scheduled to run Saturday at 1:50 p.m. CDT followed by the men’s quarterfinal at 2:10 p.m. The semifinals of the event are also scheduled for Saturday and will go off at 4:05 p.m. Former Lady Tiger Lolo Jones is also set to compete for the first time on Saturday as she lines up in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles at 1 p.m.