LEXINGTON, Ky. ? University of Kentucky sprinter Jenna Martin turned in impressive marks during international competition at the 2008 North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-23 Track and Field Championships in Toluca, Mexico, last weekend. Running under the Canadian flag, Martin posted two third-place finishes in the women?s 400 meter dash and the 4×400 meter relay.
Martin collected her first bronze medal in the 400m dash finals with a time of 52.45, finishing behind two sprinters from Jamaica. The mark is the rising junior?s best finish since setting the UK varsity record last summer as the only female Wildcat in school history to run a sub-52.00 second race. The Nova Scotia, Canada, native clocked in at 53.51 in the preliminaries to automatically qualify for the finals.
On the final day of competition, Martin ran the opening leg for the Canadian 4x400m relay team with a remarkable split of 52.1 to give her squad the lead after the first baton exchange. Martin?s Canadian team finished third with a time of 3:35.26 behind the United States and event-champion Jamaica.
Martin?s bronze medals were two of her country?s 15 accumulated total during the competition. Canada finished third in the medal count behind host Mexico and champion, the United States.
“Jenna ended her season on a great note with a 52.1 lead-off leg that put Canada in the mix in the 4x400m relay,? said UK assistant coach for sprints and hurdles Erin Tucker. ?They were tied with the U.S. after the first exchange and amazingly Jenna did it from lane one. Who knows how this season would have turned out without her minor injury setback before the Mideast Regional? She is now healthy and happy. I think next year will be a great year for Jenna and we are looking forward to the World Championships in 2009.”
With elevation almost at 8,000 feet above sea level, the championship location provided cooler temperatures for competition in the middle of July. The NACAC Athletic Association?s Under-23 Championships are held every two years in one of its 32 member nations and the organization is one of six regional associations affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Current and former Wildcats will continue international competition at the Summer Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China, beginning in mid-August.
The 2008 Beijing Games will be the first to have multiple athletes represent Kentucky track and field. Rising senior Jose Acevedo will compete for Venezuela in the 200 meter dash. Classmate Mikel Thomas will run the 110 meter hurdles for Trinidad and Tobago. UK class of 2004 alumnus David Freeman will represent Puerto Rico in the 1500 meter run. UK track and field has been represented by one participant at every summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Games with the exception of the heavily boycotted Moscow Games in 1980.
Tucker will travel to the Venezuelan National Olympic Training Center in Caracas to coach Acevedo Tuesday. The Wildcat duo will remain in Caracas until the team travels to Beijing and will return with the national squad when the Games end.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for Olympic Games updates and more post-season news.
University of Kentucky 2008 Summer Olympic Games Track and Field Participants
Jose Acevedo (Venezuela) — 200m dash
David Freeman (Puerto Rico) — 1500m run
Mikel Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago) — 110m hurdles
Coach Erin Tucker (Venezuela) — Guest coach
