Two Cougars miss qualifying for berths at Olympic trials
Brittney Gibbs and Julian Harvey completed their run at the Olympics Trials with third and 19th place finishes in the triple jump and long jump, respectively.
Gibbs finished with a mark of 41 feet, 2.5 inches, just missing the Olympic standard.
“I am excited to see her blossom in the next three years,” said SIUE jumps coach Joey Pacione.
Gibbs added to the success of the SIUE jumping squad by qualifying for the Canadian Olympic Trials in the triple jump with a mark of 41-8.75, which she recorded at the NCAA West Preliminaries. She enters the trials seeded second.
“She had an injury-riddled freshman year and this shows how talented she is once we got her healthy,” said Pacione. “I’m excited that this is the beginning for her. She improved by 18 inches from last year to this year and was a great recruit. She’s going to keep the momentum of our program going.”
The Canadian Olympic Trials were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Harvey completed the U.S. Olympic Trials with a jump of 24-10.
“I am expecting Julian to be among the elite in the NCAA in his final year of eligibility,” Pacione said. “The experience of competing at the trials will be a stepping stone for both of them to keep getting better.”
Harvey become an All-American long-jumper at the June 8 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Harvey’s mark of 25 feet, 10.75 inches at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor meet, where he was crowned the OVC champion, was enough to qualify him for the Olympic Trials. Harvey's personal best of 25-11.5 was above the legal limit for wind assistance.
Both Cougars did the program proud in the trials, Pacione said.
“I’m extremely happy for both of them,” continued Pacione. “They both ascended to a new level of performance this year and should be proud of their hard work paying off.
“This was huge for the national recognition for our program. People who see our jersey will realize we have huge goals and expectations here. Any athlete coming here will have big shoes to fill and higher standards. When the expectations are higher, the performances come along with it.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Two Cougars miss qualifying for berths at Olympic trials."