Lawson Shoulders U.S. Long Jump Medal Hopes

LONDON – 2017 USATF outdoor champion Jarrion Lawson earned himself another three attempts in his signature event, as the lone Team USA long jump finals qualifier in London at the 2017 IAAF World Championships on Friday evening.

Lawson was one of only six men to mark a leap over 8 meters and accomplished the feat twice, while running into a head wind. His round one mark of 8.04m/26-4 1/2 would have been enough to secure his spot in the next round but Lawson made sure his place in the event finals was certain, marking an automatic qualifying distance of 8.05m/26-5 on his third attempt.

“I was actually happy with the first jump (8.04m),” Lawson said. “It was my first time “jumping” jumping in two-and-a-half, three weeks. To go out there and jump over 8 meters on the first one kind of knocked some rust off.”

A 19-time All-American during his time at Arkansas, Lawson will pursue his first professional international medal tomorrow afternoon at 2:05 p.m. CT. The long jump finals will air on NBC. Fans can follow the live results HERE.

Date: Aug. 4-13
Venue: London Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Important Link: Meet Central (Schedule, Live Results, IAAF Radio and Athlete Stats)
Broadcast Schedule: NBC (see table below)

Arkansas Entries (12)
• Bahamas – Tamara Myers (Triple Jump)
• Jamaica – Kemoy Campbell (5,000), Omar McLeod (110mH), Kemar Mowatt (400mH) and Clive Pullen (Triple Jump)
• Slovenia – Tina Sutej (Pole Vault)
• Trinidad & Tobago – Sparkle McKnight (400mH)
• USA – Daina Harper (4-x-400m Relay), Andrew Irwin (Pole Vault), Stanley Kebenei (Steeplechase), Jarrion Lawson (Long Jump) and Sandi Morris (Pole Vault)

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.