Nine Track and Field Athletes with Florida Ties Head to Olympics
Monday, August 11, 2008 | Track and Field
Nine track and field athletes with University of Florida ties commence competition in the 2008 Olympic Games on Friday at Beijing National Stadium. Track and field action begins on Aug. 15 and continues through Aug. 24 in Beijing, China.
Aaron Armstrong (Trinidad), Hazel Clark (United States), Kerron Clement (United States), Kristin Heaston (United States), Moise Joseph (Haiti), Mariam Kevkhishvili (Georgia), Tiandra Ponteen (St. Kitts), Calvin Smith (United States) and Novlene Williams-Mills (Jamaica) all will head to Beijing with aspirations of earning the Olympic gold.
Clark (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004), Heaston (Athens 2004), Kevkhishvili (Athens 2004), Ponteen (Athens 2004) and Williams-Mills (Athens 2004) all are returning to the Olympic Games, while Armstrong, Clement, Joseph and Smith all are first-time competitors.
Kevkhishvili and Smith are both current members of the Florida track and field team, as both will be entering their junior season when classes in Gainesville start Aug. 25.
Kevkhishvili, a native of Tbilisi, Georgia, made history this past March when she became the first Gator to capture an NCAA shot put title on either the men's or women's sides. Her indoor national-title-winning toss of 58-6/17.83m on her second attempt broke the Florida school record previously held by Olympian and two-time All-America selection Kim Barrett. She joined Barrett and fellow Olympian Heaston as the only three Gators to garner All-America status in the event in both their freshman and sophomore seasons. Her national title was the first by a Florida track and field athlete in any event since 2005. She finished second in the shot put at the 2008 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships and was third in that event at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Smith, a native of Lutz, Fla., finished fifth in the finals of the men's 400-meter dash at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in a time of 45.57 and heads to Beijing in the pool of competitors for the United States 4x400-meter relay team. He becomes the second member of his family to compete in the Olympics after his father, of the same name, won a bronze medal in the 100m at the 1988 Olympics. He is making his second trip to Beijing after competing in the IAAF World Junior Championships in that city in 2006. Smith, an 11-time All-America selection, earned three All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships in early June, finishing fifth in the 400m, while running the anchor leg of the third-place 4x100-meter relay and the second leg of the eighth-place 4x400 relay.
Complete results and a recap of track and field athletes with Gator ties competing in the 2008 Olympic Games will be available daily at www.GatorZone.com.
| TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES WITH FLORIDA TIES COMPETING IN 2008 OLYMPICS |
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