DELHI, India – The LSU track and field program has been represented on the medal podium this year at the 19th Commonwealth Games currently running at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex as Lady Tiger great Nickiesha Wilson won a bronze medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles on Sunday.
After winning her preliminary heat on Saturday with a time of 56.51 seconds, the Jamaican hurdle star ran 56.06 in the final to finish behind Nigeria’s Ajoke Odumosu (55.28) and Scotland’s Eilidh Child (55.62).
During a prolific two-year career at LSU from 2007-08, Wilson established herself as the preeminent dual hurdler at the collegiate level while earning three NCAA titles and seven SEC titles with a total of nine All-America selections. She ended her career in 2008 as the NCAA Outdoor champion in the 400 hurdles and NCAA Outdoor runner-up in the 100 hurdles in leading the Lady Tigers to a national championship.
The Commonwealth Games is an Olympic-style competition in which countries from the Commonwealth of Nations come together in a variety of sports in the pursuit of national glory. The Commonwealth of Nations consists of 54 independent members nations formerly of the British Empire.
The first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 as the British Empire Games, featuring such events as boxing, lawn bowling, rowing, swimming, wrestling and track and field as its core sports.
Other core sports have been added since the inaugural event to include badminton, netball, rugby, squash, field hockey and weightlifting. Each Commonwealth Games can also include optional sports based on the host site, including archery, cycling, gymnastics, shooting, tennis and table tennis.