Razorbacks from Five Nations Head to Worlds
BEIJING, China – Nine former Razorbacks are set to compete against top athletes from across the globe at the 2015 IAAF World Championships which kickoff on Saturday, Aug. 22 in Beijing, China. The group of nine will be representing five different countries including Jamaica, Nigeria, Slovenia, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States.
Jamaica’s team features three Arkansas All-Americans including national team captain and nine-time world championship medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown (100m, 200m, 4×100), Kemoy Campbell (5,000m) and current number two in the world Omar McLeod (110H).
McLeod is coming off of a historic season which saw the young hurdler break two collegiate records, win three national championships and claim the top spot at the Jamaican national meet.
Regina George will be competing in three events for Nigeria (200m, 400m, 4×400) while Tina Sutej (pole vault) and Sparkle McKnight (400H) will focus only on their premier events for Slovenia and Trinidad respectively. All three former Razorbacks were individual national champions at one point during their tenure at Arkansas with George and McKnight as teammates during the 2013 indoor season in the 4×400-meter relay and Sutej earning back to back gold in 2011 and 2012.
The US delegation will be represented by a pair of seasoned sprinters in three-time world champion Tyson Gay (100m, 4x100m) and reigning ncaa record-holder at 200 meters Wallace Spearmon (200m). The two male Razorbacks are joined by the most celebrated pole vaulter in Arkansas women’s track & field history Sandi Morris.
The Bowerman semifinalist capped her career as a Razorback with a national title and a collegiate record. Morris is currently the third best American female in the event behind US record-holder Jenn Suhr and former pole vault great Stacy Dragila.
Razorbacks in Action Aug. 22-23: Gay is up first for the Razorbacks in the 100-meter dash scheduled to go off on day one of the World Championships. Gay will be looking to make it through the first of three rounds to keep his hopes off medaling alive. If he advances Gay will return to action in the semifinal section of the event on Aug. 23 and attempt to move on to the finals which will also take place that day.
Campbell-Brown and McKnight will be the first two females to see action in Beijing set to compete in the 100-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles on day two of the championships. Both look to post top times to gain the automatic advancement out of their heats.
Coverage of the competition will be available through Universal Sports Network. The 13 hour time difference is reflected in the viewing schedule below.
2015 IAAF World Championships time in central standard
Saturday, Aug. 22
Men’s 100m | 5:20 a.m. – Tyson Gay
(day 2 locally)
Women’s 400H | 9:25 p.m. – Sparkle McKnight
Women’s 100m | 11:00 p.m. – Veronica Campbell-Brown
Sunday, Aug. 23
Men’s 100m semifinals | 6:10 a.m. – Tyson Gay*
Men’s 100m finals | 8:15 a.m. – Tyson Gay*
*Upon qualification
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
