UF's football 'Senior Day' will also be a salute to Gator Olympians.
Olympian Mr. Two Bits Effort Coming
Tuesday, November 8, 2016 | Football, Track and Field, Chris Harry
Gold medalists Kerron Clement and Christian Taylor will do the pre-game cheer Saturday.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — OK, so it's not exactly the medal podium in Rio, but the significance of the moment won't be lost Saturday on Kerron Clement. Or Christian Taylor.
Or the expected sellout crowd of close to 90,000.
Combined, Clement and Taylor, the two former UF track and field stars, have captured five Olympic medals and six more at the World Championships, so you wouldn't think the thought of jumping around Mr. Two Bits style before this weekend's UF-South Carolina game at the "Swamp" is any big deal for someone who's competed on the grandest of athletic stages.
But for Clement?
"I love football and I know the cheer is a great tradition here," he said. "So it'll be an honor."
Clement went to Rio de Janerio in August, at the age of 30, and more than a decade removed from a remarkable career for Mike "Mouse" Holloway and the Gators.
In addition to breaking the indoor 400 meters world record as a sophomore, Clement twice was NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles and in 2008 earned a silver medal in the event, in addition to a gold medal with Team USA's 4x400 relay during the Olympics at Beijing. Though he missed the medal podium at the 2012 Olympics in London, Clement took gold in the 400 hurdles at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in Oregon and went on to capture his first individual Olympic gold in Rio.
"The Trials were so important for me because the entire [Florida] team was there supporting me," Clement said. "When I made the team, I did the Gator chomp."
Of course, he did. Just like Taylor and UF teammate Will Claye did when they finished 1-2 in the triple jump at Rio — just like they did in finishing 1-2 in the London Games four years before.
All told, 42 Gators took part in the 2016 Games and UF will salute them all during Saturday's football date against the Gamecocks. Claye and swimming standouts Caeleb Dressel, a two gold-medalist at Rio in relays alongside Michael Phelps, and Elizabeth Beisel, a two-time medalist at the 2012 games, will be among those on hand.
Maybe those two running and jumping Mr. Two Bits should alter the customary costume's ensemble. How 'bout swapping the yellow shirt and khaki pants and orange/blue tie should be changed — just this once — for a red, white and blue scheme?
Clement, who hails from Trinidad, admits he'll need to brush up on the words of the cheer. Not that that will be too hard.
"I just know we'll be out there to amp up the crowd," he said with a laugh. "And we'll do that."
Can someone say, "USA! USA! USA!"
Or the expected sellout crowd of close to 90,000.
Combined, Clement and Taylor, the two former UF track and field stars, have captured five Olympic medals and six more at the World Championships, so you wouldn't think the thought of jumping around Mr. Two Bits style before this weekend's UF-South Carolina game at the "Swamp" is any big deal for someone who's competed on the grandest of athletic stages.
But for Clement?
"I love football and I know the cheer is a great tradition here," he said. "So it'll be an honor."
Clement went to Rio de Janerio in August, at the age of 30, and more than a decade removed from a remarkable career for Mike "Mouse" Holloway and the Gators.
In addition to breaking the indoor 400 meters world record as a sophomore, Clement twice was NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles and in 2008 earned a silver medal in the event, in addition to a gold medal with Team USA's 4x400 relay during the Olympics at Beijing. Though he missed the medal podium at the 2012 Olympics in London, Clement took gold in the 400 hurdles at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in Oregon and went on to capture his first individual Olympic gold in Rio.
"To stand on the podium and hear the national anthem of your own country ... it's a great honor." --Kerron Clement pic.twitter.com/hvRSKkTiF6
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) August 19, 2016
"The Trials were so important for me because the entire [Florida] team was there supporting me," Clement said. "When I made the team, I did the Gator chomp."
Of course, he did. Just like Taylor and UF teammate Will Claye did when they finished 1-2 in the triple jump at Rio — just like they did in finishing 1-2 in the London Games four years before.
All told, 42 Gators took part in the 2016 Games and UF will salute them all during Saturday's football date against the Gamecocks. Claye and swimming standouts Caeleb Dressel, a two gold-medalist at Rio in relays alongside Michael Phelps, and Elizabeth Beisel, a two-time medalist at the 2012 games, will be among those on hand.
Maybe those two running and jumping Mr. Two Bits should alter the customary costume's ensemble. How 'bout swapping the yellow shirt and khaki pants and orange/blue tie should be changed — just this once — for a red, white and blue scheme?
Clement, who hails from Trinidad, admits he'll need to brush up on the words of the cheer. Not that that will be too hard.
"I just know we'll be out there to amp up the crowd," he said with a laugh. "And we'll do that."
Can someone say, "USA! USA! USA!"
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