EUGENE, Ore. – Former Lady Tiger All-American Lynnika Pitts certainly made it an Independence Day to remember during Monday’s triple jump qualifying at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials as she saved her best jump for last with a leap of 44 feet, 0 ¾ inches on her third attempt to grab the 12th and final spot into Thursday’s final.
Pitts found herself in 13th place through two rounds with a wind-aided best of 43-5 ¾ (+2.5) on her second attempt as only the Top 12 jumpers in Tuesday’s qualifying would advance to the women’s final.
She returned to the runway one last time and jumped 44-0 ¾ (+1.6) to overtake Vanderbilt’s NCAA Outdoor Silver Medalist Simone Charley (43-10 ¾w) for the 12th and final spot in the final. Keri Emanuel, a former Lady Tiger teammate of Pitts and All-American in her own right, was just four inches shy of qualifying for the final herself as she jumped a wind-aided 43-8 ¾ (+4.3) on her third attempt for 16th place.
While Pitts qualified for the triple jump final in her debut appearance at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials on Monday, she is no stranger to national finals in the event as she was the U.S. Outdoor Bronze Medalist on her debut at the USA Outdoor Championships in 2014 in Sacramento, California, before placing fourth in the event at the USA Outdoor Championships a year ago on the same runway at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Pitts competed internationally for Team USA for the first time last season when she won the bronze medal in the triple jump at the 2015 North American, Central American & Caribbean Championships held in San Jose, Costa Rica, where she jumped her career-best wind-aided mark of 46-0.
The Prairieville, Louisiana, native and East Ascension High School product will have the opportunity to make her first U.S. Olympic Team in Thursday’s final that is set to begin at 8:30 p.m. CT at Hayward Field.
LSU’s Entries at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials
Note: Times are Central and subject to change due to weather and athlete advancement.
Thursday, July 7
TV Coverage: NBC Sports Network (7 p.m. CT)
5:30 p.m. – Women’s Javelin Qualifying (Rebekah Wales)
7:02 p.m. – Women’s 100 Hurdles First Round (Jasmin Stowers, Tenaya Jones)
7:30 p.m. – Men’s 200 Meters First Round (Aaron Ernest)
7:58 p.m. – Women’s 400 Hurdles First Round (Cassandra Tate, Kymber Payne)
8 p.m. – Men’s Discus Qualifying (Rodney Brown)
8:30 p.m. – Women’s Triple Jump Final (Lynnika Pitts)
8:53 p.m. – Men’s 400 Hurdles First Round (Quincy Downing)
Friday, July 8
TV Coverage: NBC Sports Network (5 p.m. CT); NBC (7 p.m. CT)
5:02 p.m. – Men’s 110 Hurdles First Round (Jordan Moore, Joshua Thompson, Ryan Fontenot)
5:30 p.m. – Women’s 200 Meters First Round (Kimberlyn Duncan, Jada Martin)
5:30 p.m. – Men’s Discus Final (Rodney Brown)
5:58 p.m. – Women’s 100 Hurdles Semifinals (Jasmin Stowers, Tenaya Jones)
6:31 p.m. – Women’s 400 Hurdles Semifinals (Cassandra Tate, Kymber Payne)
6:47 p.m. – Men’s 400 Hurdles Semifinals (Quincy Downing)
7:37 p.m. – Men’s 200 Meters Semifinals (Aaron Ernest)
7:54 p.m. – Women’s 100 Hurdles Final (Jasmin Stowers, Tenaya Jones)
Saturday, July 9
TV Coverage: NBC (7 p.m. CT)
6 p.m. – Women’s Javelin Final (Rebekah Wales)
6:25 p.m. – Men’s 110 Hurdles Semifinals (Jordan Moore, Joshua Thompson, Ryan Fontenot)
7:03 p.m. – Women’s 200 Meters Semifinals (Kimberlyn Duncan, Jada Martin)
7:42 p.m. – Men’s 200 Meters Final (Aaron Ernest)
7:52 p.m. – Men’s 110 Hurdles Final (Jordan Moore, Joshua Thompson, Ryan Fontenot)
Sunday, July 10
TV Coverage: NBC (6 p.m. CT)
6:03 p.m. – Women’s 400 Hurdles Final (Cassandra Tate, Kymber Payne)
6:51 p.m. – Men’s 400 Hurdles Final (Quincy Downing)
7:11 p.m. – Women’s 200 Meters Final (Kimberlyn Duncan, Jada Martin)