Three Gators Advance on Opening Day of Olympic Track & Field
Friday, August 3, 2012 | Track and Field
Three Gator track & field athletes advanced on the first day of competition at Olympic Stadium on Friday, highlighting a full lineup of Florida athletes, past and present, representing their countries and the Gator Nation over the course of the London Games.
Kerron Clement (U.S.A.) finished second in his heat and second overall in the men's 400-meter hurdles, automatically advancing to Saturday's semifinals at 2 p.m. ET. The 2008 Olympic silver medalist turned in a season's best time of 48.48 in the fourth heat of the day to solidify his spot in the semifinals.
“(The race) was good,” Clement said. “It is a very fast track. I just came out here focused on myself, focused on my steps. I've had a rather interesting season; I've had a few races under my belt, so I'm just happy to make my second Olympic team and just running really well at the Olympics.”
Novlene Williams-Mills (Jamaica) won her heat and finished sixth overall in the women's 400 meters to advance to Saturday's semifinals. Williams-Mills finished in 50.88 and will compete at 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Will Claye (U.S.A.) finished eighth overall in the qualification round of the men's long jump on Friday, leaping 7.99m/26-2.75 (-0.7) to finish sixth in his flight. Claye will compete in the finals of the men's long jump on Saturday at 2:55 p.m. ET, the first track & field final for the Gators at the London Games.
“It was a little rough, but thank God I made it through, so I live to fight another day,” Claye said. “I'm gonna come back tomorrow like today never happened and see what I can do to win that gold medal.”
Kemal Mesic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) was the first Gator to compete in track & field at the 2012 Olympic Games on Friday. Mesic finished 12th in his flight and 24th overall in the men's shot put with a mark of 19.60m/64-3.75.
Joining Claye, Clement and Williams-Mills in competition on Saturday will be Genevieve LaCaze (Australia, 3,000m steeplechase) and Tony McQuay (U.S.A., 400m). LaCaze will race in the first heat of Round 1 of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (6:35 a.m. ET) and McQuay will line up in the fifth heat of Round 1 of the men's 400 meters (5:35 a.m. ET) on Saturday.
To keep up with all the Gators at the Olympics, make sure to follow @OlympicGators on Twitter. For all of the latest information on Florida track and field, log on to www.GatorZone.com/trackfield or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @GZTrackField or www.twitter.com/GZTrackField. You can also find the Gators on Facebook.
| GATORS AT THE 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES – TRACK & FIELD | ||||
| Gator Athlete | Country | Time (ET) | Round and Event | Result |
| FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012 | ||||
| Kemal Mesic | Bosnia | 5:00 AM | Qualification: Shot Put | 12th in flight (24th overall), 19.60m/64-3.75, did not advance to final |
| Kerron Clement | U.S.A. | 6:15 AM | Round 1: 400m Hurdles | 2nd in heat (2nd overall), season's best 48.48, advanced to semifinal |
| Novlene Williams-Mills | Jamaica | 7:00 AM | Round 1: 400m | 1st in heat (6th overall), 50.88, advanced to semifinal |
| Will Claye | U.S.A. | 2:50 PM | Qualification: Long Jump | 6th in flight (8th overall), 7.99m/26-2.75, advanced to final |
| SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2012 | ||||
| Tony McQuay | U.S.A. | 5:35 AM | Round 1: 400m | |
| Genevieve LaCaze | Australia | 6:35 AM | Round 1: 3,000m Steeplechase | |
| Kerron Clement | U.S.A. | 2:00 PM | Semifinals: 400m Hurdles | |
| Will Claye | U.S.A. | 2:55 PM | Final: Long Jump | |
| Novlene Williams-Mills | Jamaica | 3:05 PM | Semifinals: 400m | |
| SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012 | ||||
| Tony McQuay | U.S.A. | 3:40 PM | Semifinals: 400m | |
| Novlene Williams-Mills | Jamaica | 4:10 PM | Final: 400m | |
| MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2012 | ||||
| Moise Joseph | Haiti | 5:50 AM | Round 1: 800m | |
| Kerron Clement | U.S.A. | 3:45 PM | Final: 400m Hurdles | |
| Genevieve LaCaze | Australia | 4:05 PM | Final: 3,000M Steeplechase | |
| Tony McQuay | U.S.A. | 4:30 PM | Final: 400m | |
| TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2012 | ||||
| Will Claye | U.S.A. | 5:45 AM | Qualification: Triple Jump | |
| Christian Taylor | U.S.A. | 5:45 AM | Qualification: Triple Jump | |
| Shara Proctor | Great Britain | 2:05 PM | Qualification: Long Jump | |
| Moise Joseph | Haiti | 2:55 PM | Semifinals: 800m | |
| WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2012 | ||||
| Shara Proctor | Great Britain | 3:05 PM | Final: Long Jump | |
| THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012 | ||||
| Kerron Clement | U.S.A. | 6:35 AM | Round 1: 4x400m Relay | |
| Tony McQuay | U.S.A. | 6:35 AM | Round 1: 4x400m Relay | |
| Will Claye | U.S.A. | 2:20 PM | Final: Triple Jump | |
| Christian Taylor | U.S.A. | 2:20 PM | Final: Triple Jump | |
| Moise Joseph | Haiti | 3:00 PM | Final: 800m | |
| FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2012 | ||||
| Novlene Williams-Mills | Jamaica | 2:10 PM | Round 1: 4x400m Relay | |
| Jeff Demps | U.S.A. | 2:45 PM | Round 1: 4x100m Relay | |
| Kerron Clement | U.S.A. | 4:20 PM | Final: 4x400m Relay | |
| Tony McQuay | U.S.A. | 4:20 PM | Final: 4x400m Relay | |
| SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012 | ||||
| Novlene Williams-Mills | Jamaica | 3:25 PM | Final: 4x400m Relay | |
| Jeff Demps | U.S.A. | 4:00 PM | Final: 4x100m Relay | |
| Semifinal – Contingent Upon Advancing from Round 1 | ||||
| Final – Contingent Upon Advancing from Qualification or Semifinal | ||||
