EUGENE, Ore. — With her performance in the 100-meter hurdles at this year’s U.S. Olympic Trials, former Lady Tiger star Lolo Jones put the rest of the world on notice that she is a force to be reckoned with at the 2008 Olympic Games this summer in Beijing, China.
Jones dominated the hurdles this weekend at historic Hayward Field en route to winning her first career U.S. Outdoor title in the event in her four-year professional career.
After setting a new personal best and the fastest time in the world this year with a wind-legal time of 12.45 seconds in Sunday’s semifinal, Jones cleared all 10 hurdles in the 100-meter race faster than any American in history under all conditions with a wind-aided time of 12.29 in the final.
With a tailwind measuring 3.8 meters-per-second whipping down the straightaway, Jones was the first to clear the first hurdle and never looked back as she blew away the rest of the field with Damu Cherry finishing a distant second at 12.58. Dawn Harper also qualified for the U.S team on Sunday with a third-place finish and time of 12.62 in the final.
Not only does this mark the first time that Jones has been crowned U.S. champion in the 100-meter hurdles, it also marks the first time in her illustrious career that she will represent the United States in the event at the Olympic Games.
“I think my reaction out there on the track speaks for itself,” Jones said. “I was just so excited to make the team that I wasn’t even thinking about what kind of time I ran. And when I saw my time flash up on the board, I wasn’t really sure what to think because I didn’t know if it was wind aided or not. It still feels great to run that fast, even though I may have had a little help.
“I’m just excited to represent my country on my first Olympic team. That was my main focus this weekend, and now I have to get right back to work to get ready for Beijing. We’re sending a great group of hurdlers to the Olympics, and I’m sure we will make the United States very proud.”
Jones established her dominance at this year’s Olympic Trials from the opening gun in Saturday’s first round of qualifying when 27 hurdlers lined up in hopes of earning one of three spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. She clocked the fastest time in the field in each of the four rounds, including wind-legal times of 12.68 in the prelims and 12.59 in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Her victory on Sunday is the latest in a remarkable season that has already seen her crowned U.S. Indoor champion and World Indoor champion in the 60-meter hurdles.
LSU head coach Dennis Shaver has seen Jones mature as both an athlete and a person since first stepping onto LSU’s campus as a freshman in 2001, and he said there is no one more deserving of this kind of success with the hard work and determination that Jones has shown in 2008.
“I’m just so proud of Lolo and all that she has accomplished this season,” Shaver said. “She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been involved with, and it is truly amazing to see all of her hard work finally starting to pay off. I have no doubt that she will wear that USA uniform with great pride in Beijing, and she will represent herself and LSU very well with her performance.”
Jones was not the only former Lady Tiger to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team on Sunday as Muna Lee made the squad after earning a runner-up finish in the final of the 200-meter dash.
After already being crowned champion in the 100-meter dash on the second day of competition at this year’s trials, Lee earned a coveted top-three finish in the 200-meter final to qualify for the U.S. squad in two events. Her wind-aided effort of 21.99 was second only to the time of 21.82 by reigning World Outdoor 200-meter champion Allyson Felix.
While this marks the first time in her career that she will line up in the 100 meters at the Olympic Games, Lee will run the 200 meters for the second time after making an appearance in 2004.
“It’s an exciting time for me right now, and I’m just so proud that I will be running for the United States in Beijing,” Lee said. “I feel like I ran a pretty good race today. That was probably the best 150 that I’ve run in a really long time, and I held on pretty well over the last 50. I now know what I need to work on these next few weeks to get ready for the Olympics.”
LSU great Walter Davis just missed making the U.S. Olympic Team for the third straight time as he posted a fourth-place finish in the triple jump. Davis, who stepped onto the triple jump runway for the first time this season, hit a jump of 56 feet, 5 ? inches on his third attempt to move him into second place heading into the final round of jumps.
Davis sat in third place with one jump remaining when Aarik Wilson leaped 57-2 ? to move from fifth place to first place and bump Davis into the fourth position. The former Tiger was unable to improve on his attempt as he wrapped up the competition with a jump of 56-1 ?.
Former Tiger Xavier Carter also saw his Olympic dream come to an end on Sunday afternoon as he scratched from the final of the men’s 200 meters due to an apparent ankle injury. Carter performed very well in his first Olympic Trials experience as he advanced to the final in both the 100 meters and 200 meters.
With the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials now in the books, a total of six current and former LSU track and field athletes have earned the right to represent their respective countries at the Olympic Games with many other athletes still in contention to make the trip to Beijing later this summer.
Donning the red, white and blue for the United States will be Lee in both the 100 meters and 200 meters and Jones in the 100 hurdles. Seniors Kelly Baptiste and Richard Thompson will line up in the 100-meter dash for their native Trinidad and Tobago, while former Tiger standout Isa Phillips and junior Nickiesha Wilson will run the 400-meter hurdles for their native Jamaica.
“I’m so proud of the way our athletes have performed all season long,” Shaver said. “They have done an outstanding job of representing themselves both on and off the track, and I have no doubt that each of them will continue to represent their countries and this great university when they get to Beijing. This has certainly been an exciting year to be an LSU track and field athlete.”
The 2008 Olympic Games will head to the mainland of China as the city of Beijing will play host to the three-week long event from Aug. 8-24. All track and field events are scheduled to run from Aug. 15-24 and will be held at Olympic Stadium in Beijing.