Leah Nugent Sixth in Rio Olympic 400H Final
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RESULTS
RIO DE JANEIRO – Kentucky almuna Leah Nugent ran the race of her young life at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad Thursday finishing sixth in the 400-meter hurdles with a lifetime best time of 54.45.
Nugent recovered from a reaction time of 0.226, eighth fastest in the field, to get back into contention through the middle portion of the race. She held on through the final straight for sixth place in her first Olympic Games.
“Words can’t describe how grateful I am for all the blessings and lessons I received on this journey,” Nugent said. “This was my first Olympics, and to walk away the sixth fastest 400-meter hurdler in the world is outstanding looking at where I was a few years ago. Transferring schools (to UK before the 2014 season) was not an easy task for me but I knew it had to be done to accomplish my goals. There is so much I could say but I want everyone to be able to take away the important part about this journey. It’s more than track. It’s bigger than me.”
Nugent – representing Jamaica – is in her first season as a professional athlete having added Olympic Finalist to a curriculum vitae that includes the 2015 NCAA and Southeastern Conference bronze medals as a senior at Kentucky.
She ran personal bests in the semifinals (54.98) and final. She was briefly disqualified in the heats for what was deemed to be a trail-leg violation, but she was soon reinstated upon appeal.
During the morning session Kentucky alumnus Rondel Sorrillo ran the second leg of Trinidad and Tobago’s 4×100-meter relay in the qualifying heats. Trinidad and Tobago placed third earning the final automatic qualifying spot into the final from the second heat with a time of 37.96.
Trinidad and Tobago with Rondel Sorrillo running the second leg was disqualified in the 4x100m relay final.
The networks of NBC own the broadcast rights for the Olympic Games in the United States. All track and field at the games will be streamed live via nbcolympics.com and the NBC Sports app.
Rio2016.com and the IAAF have live results.
Wildcats Andrew Evans (Team USA), Camacho-Quinn (Puerto Rico), Nugent (Jamaica), Sorrillo (Trinidad and Tobago), Luis Orta (Venezuela) and Mikel Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago) are also competing in athletics at the Rio Olympic Games.
Camacho-Quinn and alumni Nugent and Sorrillo all train at Kentucky under head coach Edrick Floréal’s direction.
The athletics portion of the Olympic Games will run until Sunday, Aug. 21, which is the day of closing ceremonies.
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The most up-to-date coverage of the UK track and field program is available via @KentuckyTrack handles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
UK Attachments XXXI
Olympic Games Timetable + Results
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Thursday, Aug. 18
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4x100m relay 6. Rondel Sorrillo
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400m Hurdles 6. Leah Nugent – Jamaica: 54.45 |
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Friday, Aug. 19
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4x100m relay final DQ: Trinidad and Tobago |
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Sunday, Aug. 21
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Luis Orta – Venezuela
Marathon
8:30 a.m.
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