Day Seven of Competition – Aug. 9
LONDON – Under the guidance and leadership of newly named University of Kentucky track and field head coach Edrick Floreal, American’s Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee went 1-2, capturing the gold and silver medals in the men’s decathlon at the Olympic Games on Thursday afternoon.
Eaton claimed gold tallying an overall final score of 8869, with Hardee close behind at 8671. The bronze medal was collected by Suarez Leonel of Cuba, who finished 346 points off the pace set by Eaton.
Eaton was the first-place finisher in the 400m, long jump and 100m sprint, while earning a top-five spot in the high jump (2nd), 110m hurdles (2nd), pole vault (3rd) and javelin throw (3rd). In the final event of the 10 contested, Eaton finished sixth in the 1500m in 4:33.59 to claim the gold.
Eaton and Hardee were the only two Americans in the field of 26 vying for gold in London.
Floreal also guided two Americans to gold and silver in the men’s triple jump. Christian Taylor took home gold with a mark of 17.81m while fellow American Will Claye followed him up with a silver medal on a jump of 17.62m.
Friday from London, former Kentucky track and field standout Rondel Sorrillo will be representing his native land of Trinidad and Tobago in the men’s 4x100m relay qualifications. Trinidad and Tobago will be in lane four tomorrow morning at 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local time in London in the second of two heats that consist of the qualification round. Should they qualify for the finals, Sorillo would race Saturday, Aug. 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 p.m. local time.
Day Five of Competition – Aug. 7
On the fifth day of track and field competition in London, University of Kentucky track and field head coach Edrick Floreal guided American Erik Kynard to a silver medal in the finals of the men’s high jump. Kynard scored a 2.33-meter jump, clinching the silver for the USA on Tuesday, just behind the gold-medal winning mark of 2.38 of Ukhov Ivan of Russia.
In other competition, Tuesday marked the qualification period of the men’s triple jump, in which American’s Will Claye and Christian Taylor will be under the guidance of Floreal. Claye qualified for the finals with the best qualifying score in the competition, posting a score of 17.70, more than five tenths better than the second-place qualifier for the finals. Taylor finished first in Group B of qualifying, and had the ninth-best score overall, also qualifying for the finals.
The finals for the men’s triple jump will be Aug. 9 at 2:20 p.m. ET, 7:20 p.m. local time in London.
Day Three of Competition – Aug. 5
Kentucky track and field coach Edrick Floreal guided three Americans to the finals of the men’s high jump on the third day of track and field competition at the 2012 Olympic Games.
After advancing two from Team USA to the long jump on the opening day of the track and field portion of the Olympics, Floreal upped his total of athletes with three qualifying for the finals of the high jump set to take place on Tuesday.
Americans Erik Kynard and Jesse Williams both finished third with a 2.29 jump in the qualifying portion of the event. Jamie Nieto rounds out the field for Team USA coming in seventh with a jump of 2.26 to place three among the top-seven qualifiers wearing the Red, White and Blue.
Floreal will coach the three finalists on Aug. 7 at 2 p.m. ET.
Elsewhere on the track, former UK star Rondel Sorrilloplaced 23rd overall in the world in the 100m with a time of 10.31. Sorrillo advanced to the semifinals of the race for the second time in his career.
He will return to competition later in the week suiting up for Trinidad and Tobago in the 200m as well as a member of the 4x100m relay.
For continuing coverage of the athletes with Wildcat ties visit UKathletics.com for daily updates.
Day Two of Competition – Aug. 4
On the second day of track and field competition at the 2012 Olympics, the Wildcats had two former athletes in competition while UK head coach Edrick Floreal, serving as an assistant for Team USA, led Will Claye to a bronze medal in the men’s long jump.
Floreal is coaching America’s jumps and combined events and guided Claye to a bronze medal in the men’s long jump with a best mark of 8.12m. The medal for Team USA is the second overall in track and field thus far.
Floreal’s other athlete, Marquise Goodwin, in competition this evening finished 10th overall with a jump of 7.80m to highlight the day for Olympians with UK ties.
Former UK standouts Jenna Martin and Rondel Sorrillo were also in action. Martin who advanced to the semifinals of the 400m with a time of 51.98 yesterday, capped her Olympic run with a 52.83 time in today’s semifinals to finish 23rd in the world. Martin was seventh in the opening heat in the semifinal portion of the competition.
Sorrillo became the second Wildcat to advance beyond the opening day of competition after qualifying for the semifinals in the 100m. Sorillo, representing Trinidad and Tobago, finished third in his heat with a time of 10.23 to qualify for tomorrow’s semifinal heats. Sorrillo finished just behind USA’s Justin Gattin (9.97) and the Bahamas’ Derrick Attkins (10.22).
Sorillo will hit the blocks in the final heat of competition in the semifinal round tomorrow. He will stand in lane three and be next to Lexington native Tyson Gay who will occupy lane four.
The Trinidad and Tobago native holds the 100m record at Kentucky. A veteran competitor at the Olympics, he ran 10.05 in the 100m at the 2008 Games.
Floreal will direct his athletes in the men’s high jump qualification, and Sorrillo will be in action in the 100m semifinals at 2:45 p.m. ET Sunday to highlight competition for the Cats.
Day One of Competition – Aug. 3
Former University of Kentucky standout Jenna Martin qualified for the semifinals of the Women’s 400m early Friday morning on the first day of track and field competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Martin, a native of Nova Scotia, Canada and a 2011 Kentucky graduate, is competing in the women’s 400m for her native country, Canada, an event in which she holds the UK program record with a time of 52.32 seconds in 2008. Martin was selected indoor All-American in 2008 for the 400m and outdoor All-American in the 400m in 2011.
Martin’s time of 51.98 seconds in Heat 3 of qualifiers was the third best of the heat, qualifying her for the semifinals on Saturday, Aug. 4, at 3:05 p.m. ET. The finals of the women’s 400m will take place Sunday, Aug. 5, at 4:10 p.m. ET.
UK track and field and cross country coach Edrick Floreal, serving as an assistant coach for USA, specifically coaching men’s jumps and combined events, coached two members of the USA Olympic team into the finals of the men’s long jump. Marquise Goodwin recorded the best jump in Group A of qualifiers, leaping 8.11m. Fellow American, Will Claye, also qualified for the men’s long jump final with a 7.99m jump.
Floreal will coach Goodwin and Claye in the Finals of the men’s long jump Saturday, Aug. 4, at 2:55 p.m. ET.
Look for other Wildcats in action on Saturday as Rondel Sorrillo will compete in the preliminaries of the men’s 100m at 5:00 a.m. ET.
Olympic Results for Former Wildcats
Jenna Martin – Canada
Women’s 400m Round One – Qualified for Semifinals – 51.98
Women’s 400m Semifinals – 23rd overall – 52.83
Rondel Sorrillo – Trinidad and Tobago
Men’s 100m Preliminaries – Qualified for Semifinals – 10.23
Men’s 100m Semifinals – 23rd overall – 10.31
Men’s 200m Round One – 34th overall – 20.76
4x100m Relay Round One – Aug. 10, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Mikel Thomas – Trinidad and Tobago
Men’s 110m Hurdle Round One – 32nd overall – 13.74
