Clement Advances to 400-Meter Hurdles Finals on Day Seven at the U.S. Olympic Trials
Saturday, June 30, 2012 | Track and Field
2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Kerron Clement was among four Gators who competed on the seventh day of the U.S. Olympic Trials at historic Hayward Field on Friday. Current Florida track & field athletes Dedric Dukes (Miami, Fla.) and Eddie Lovett (West Palm Beach, Fla.) advanced in their respective events along with Clement.
Clement finished second in his heat and third overall in the semifinals of the men's 400-meter hurdles, advancing to Sunday's finals at 7:12 p.m. ET. Clement, a three-time NCAA Champion in the Orange and Blue, ran a season's best 49.04 to advance to the finals as he looks to secure his second Olympic berth.
“I'm excited to be competing again,” Clement said. “I had surgery in February (but) I'm a fighter, I'm a warrior and I love competition.”
Freshman Dukes finished third in his heat and 10th overall in 20.54, automatically advancing to Saturday's semifinals at 9 p.m. ET. Dukes is one of an impressive 11 collegians to advance to the semifinals of the event and is one of three representatives from the SEC to race in the 200 semifinals tomorrow evening.
Sophomore Lovett advanced on time in the men's 110-meter hurdles, finishing 11th overall in a new personal best of 13.49. Lovett, an All-American outdoors in the men's 110-meter hurdles, moves into second all-time in Florida school history (Josh Walker, 2004 – 13.32) and will compete at 7:20 p.m. ET on Saturday. Should he finish in the top two of his heat or turn in one of the next two fastest times, Lovett will compete in the finals at 9:40 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
Former Gator distance runner Mason Cathey finished 11th in the finals of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, turning in a time of 9:54.07 in the final race of the day. Cathey, who ran a personal best of 9:47.32 in the preliminary round, runs professionally for Saucony while on staff at Butler University as an assistant track & cross country coach.
Joining Dukes and Lovett at Hayward Field tomorrow is the Gator triple jump trio of IAAF Indoor World Champion Will Claye, 2012 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Champion and current Florida junior Omar Craddock (Killeen, Texas) and IAAF Outdoor World Champion Christian Taylor. The Gators return to the runway at 7:40 p.m. ET for the chance to go to London. Saturday's television coverage will begin at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
Both Claye and Taylor already own the Olympic A standard of 17.20m/56-5.25. Craddock will need to earn a podium finish and reach the A standard to claim a spot on the Team USA roster. Claye already owns a place on Team USA, earning a silver medal at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the men's long jump.
The NBC Sports Group presents unprecedented coverage of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials as American athletes compete for a chance to take part in the London Games.
A total of 12 hours of live track and field coverage will be a part of a record 67.5 hours of total Olympic Team Trials coverage by NBC in 2012. Covered in prime time between NBC and the NBC Sports Network, the 12 hours of live coverage will span the course of eight days.
A full recap of each day's events and results will be available on GatorZone.com. For news, schedules, events and the Facebook and Twitter feeds of the 2012 Olympic Trials, please log on to http://www.gotracktownusa.com/.
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U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS – TRACK & FIELD (JUNE 21-JULY 1, 2012 – EUGENE, OR)
FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2012
Men's 200 Meters – Qualifying
10. Dedric Dukes, 20.54Q (+1.5)
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – Finals
11. Mason Cathey, 9:54.07
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles – Qualifying
11. Eddie Lovett, 13.49q (+1.4) (PR)
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles – Semifinals
3. Kerron Clement, 49.04Q (SB)
| NBC SPORTS GROUP LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE | ||
| Date | Time | Network |
| Saturday, June 30th | 9-10 p.m. ET/PT | NBC |
| Sunday, July 1st | 7-8 p.m. ET/PT | NBC |
| 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ET) | ||||
| TIME | EVENT | ROUND | FORMER/CURRENT GATORS COMPETING | QUALIFYING STANDARD (ATHLETE 2012 MARK) |
| SATURDAY, JUNE 30 | ||||
| 7:20 p.m. | Men's 110-Meter Hurdles | Semi-Finals | Eddie Lovett | A: 13.52; B: 13.60 (Lovett: 13.49) |
| 7:40 p.m. | Men's Triple Jump | Final | Will Claye, Omar Craddock, Christian Taylor | A: 17.20m; B: 16.85m (Claye: 17.48m, Craddock: 16.71m, Taylor: 17.62m) |
| 9:00 p.m. | Men's 200 Meters | Semi-Finals | Dedric Dukes | A: 20.55; B: 20.65 (Dukes: 20.47) |
| 9:40 p.m. | Men's 110-Meter Hurdles | Final | Eddie Lovett | A: 13.52; B: 13.60 (Lovett: 13.49) |
| SUNDAY, JULY 1 | ||||
| 7:12 p.m. | Men's 400-Meter Hurdles | Final | Kerron Clement | A: 49.50; B: 49.80 (Clement: 49.04) |
| 7:50 p.m. | Men's 200 Meters | Final | Dedric Dukes | A: 20.55; B: 20.65 (Dukes: 20.47) |
| Blue Rows are Semi-Finals and are contingent upon advancing from Qualifying/First Round | ||||
| Gray Rows are Finals and are contingent upon advancing from Trials/Semi-Finals | ||||
