June 27, 2008
EUGENE, Ore.: - Nittany Lion volunteer assistant Gigi Johnson is in fourth place with four events of the women's heptathlon in the books, Friday at the US Olympic Trials at Historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Despite an outstanding start, rising senior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) completed three events of the competition but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Hunter got the ball rolling for the Lions in the very first event of the eight-day trials event, winning her heat of the 100-meter hurdles in a near-PR 13.71 - the seventh-fastest time in the field and the best of all collegiate entrants. Johnson was also on fire over the barriers, running a career-low 12.83 - just off event winner Hyleas Fountain, who clocked an American heptathlon record 12.65. Hunter's performance was good for 1020 points, while Johnson totaled 1150 in the event.
Both women were also solid in the high jump, as Hunter tied her personal outdoor best with a clearance of 5-05.25 (1.66), good for 806 points. Johnson, whose best bar was also 5-5.25 (1.66), went on to post a mark of 40-00.5 (12.20) in the shot put, and finished off the day with a sizzling 23.38 in the 200-meters - the second-fastest time of the day, and enough for another 1041 points. Johnson's day one total of 3671 currently stands fourth in the field, and is just 46 points off the third-place competitor. The top three finishes advance to the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Competition continues in Eugene tomorrow, beginning with the women's javelin at 12:45 p.m. PT. Penn State graduate Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.) is set to compete.