KINGSTON, Jamaica — The LSU track and field program hopes to send a large Jamaican contingent to the 2008 Olympic Games this summer as six current and former athletes compete at the Jamaican National Senior Championships beginning Friday at the National Stadium.
Many of the world’s greatest athletes will be on display as the three-day meet, which is sponsored by the Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association, will be held in Kingston through Sunday.
LSU standouts Nickiesha Wilson, Samantha Henry and Andrea Linton will join former stars Pete Coley, Peta-Gaye Dowdie and Isa Phillips in this year’s competition as they hope to earn the right to fly the Jamaican flag at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, in August.
These six athletes hope to join seniors Richard Thompson and Kelly Baptiste as part of the LSU contingent at the Olympic Games as the duo punched their ticket for Trinidad and Tobago a week ago. The top three finishers in each event at this week’s Jamaican National Senior Championships that have met the Olympic “A” qualifying standard will make the trip to Beijing.
Wilson will kick off the festivities by lining up in the preliminary round of the 400-meter hurdles as she hopes to qualify for Saturday’s final in the event. The Kingston native helped lead the Lady Tigers to a national championship in Des Moines, Iowa, two weeks ago after being crowned NCAA champion in the 400 hurdles to go along with a runner-up finish in the 100 hurdles.
Wilson is currently fourth-ranked woman in the world in the 400-meter hurdles after recording a seasonal best time of 54.45 seconds in the NCAA final. She is also the second-ranked Jamaican in this year’s field, trailing only Melanie Walker’s top time of 54.18.
Phillips will follow Wilson by lining up in the prelims of the men’s 400 hurdles as he joins a deep and talented field in the event. He wrapped up his LSU career in 2007 with a national title of his own in the 400 hurdles after setting a personal best of 48.51 in the final at the NCAA meet.
Henry and Dowdie are also slated to line up on Friday night as they run in the qualifying round of the 100-meter dash, while Coley is the last to step onto the track in the prelims of the 400 meters.
The semifinal and final rounds of the women’s 100-meter dash are scheduled to run on Saturday, while both Henry and Dowdie also plan to run the 200 meters on Sunday. Coley hopes to advance to the semifinal round of the 400-meter dash on Saturday afternoon with the final of the event set to run during Sunday’s competition at the National Stadium.
Henry wrapped up a successful sophomore season at LSU with four All-America honors in 2008, including a seventh-place finish in the 100 and a fifth-place finish in the 200 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She also ran the second leg on the Lady Tigers’ NCAA runner-up 4×100-meter relay team while scoring eight points for LSU.
Dowdie wrapped up her LSU career in 2000 as a three-time NCAA champion and a 19-time All-American, which ranks third for All-America honors in school history. Coley is one of the premier quartermilers to ever wear the LSU uniform as he won a total of four NCAA titles and 12 All-America honors from 2001-05. He also ranks third in team history for All-America honors.
Linton is the only LSU athlete scheduled to compete in the field events at this year’s meet as she will step onto the triple jump runway during Saturday’s action.
Dowdie is looking to represent Jamaica at the Olympic Games for the third time in her illustrious career, while Coley, Henry, Linton, Phillips and Wilson hope to qualify for the first time. Be sure to log on to www.LSUsports.net for daily updates as these six athletes attempt to add their names to LSU’s impressive Olympic roster for this summer’s games in Beijing.