For sprinter Jeff Demps, this year has been about making sacrifices for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
It started about seven months ago when Demps announced that he was forgoing a career in the NFL to focus on earning a spot on Team USA as well as a professional career.
Then at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, he sat out of the finals because of a tweaked hamstring, which he didn’t want to injure further with the Olympic trials only two weeks after that meet.
Unfortunately for Demps, he is not one of the four current and former Gators track and field athletes who will be traveling to London for Team USA.
Despite not making the team, Demps had arguably the strongest outing of any collegiate competitor in the 100 meters. He finished fourth overall in the semifinals with a time of 10.10, making him the only collegian to advance to the finals. In the finals he finished seventh overall with a time of 10.27.
Florida will have four current and former track and field Gators competing in London for Team USA. Junior Tony McQuay and Will Claye were the first two to qualify.
McQuay won the silver medalist honors at the Olympic Trials in the 400 meters, with a new personal record of 44.49. The three-time NCAA Champion beat his previous record of 44.58, which he set at the outdoor championships.
Like McQuay, Claye also grabbed the silver medalist honors at the trials. His leap of 8.23m/27 in the long jump gave him his first spot on Team USA.
Claye will also be representing the U.S. in the triple jump. He used a personal best of 17.55m/57-7 inches to claim the silver once again.
In the triple jump, Claye was edged out of first by his former teammate, Christian Taylor.
Taylor’s first attempt in the finals solidified his spot on the team. He used a season’s best mark of 17.63m/57-10.5 inches. Both Taylor and Claye jumped above the Olympic “A” standard mark of 17.20m/56-5.25.
The final Gator athlete to earn a trip to London was Kerron Clement in the 400-meter hurdles. The four-time World Champion grabbed the third and final spot for the event with a time of 48.89.
Clement is the only former Gator to be making his second trip to the Olympics this year.
In 2008, he won the silver medal for Team USA in the 400-meter hurdles as well as a gold medal as a member of the men’s 4x400-meter relay.
In addition to the four who will be competing for the U.S., Genevieve LaCaze and Kemal Mesic have also earned a trip to London. LaCaze will be representing Australia in the steeplechase, and Mesic will be representing Bosnia in shot put.
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Former Gator sprinter Tony McQuay (center) races against Josh Mance (left) and Joey Hughes Jr., in the men’s 400m semifinal at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on June 23. McQuay placed second in the finals with a personal record.
