By NAN Sports Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. July 5, 2016: While the focus has been on Usain Bolt’s injury at the Jamaican national championships in Kingston ahead of Rio 2016 and whether he will be healthy enough for the Summer Games, lost in the mix has been the qualification of several former Louisiana State University alumni for the Jamaican Olympic squad.
Four qualified for the Jamaican team’s Olympic Games roster over the weekend at the Jamaican national championships in Kingston, according to LSU Sports.
They include former Lady Tigers middle distance runner Natoya Goule and former Tigers long jumper Damar Forbes, who both qualified on Saturday night, July 2nd.
Goule, a four-time NCAA champion for the Lady Tigers at 800 meters, won that event in 2 minutes, 00.23 seconds to book a spot on the Jamaican Olympics team while Forbes booked his spot with the win in the men’s long jump title with a seasonal best in the long jump with a leap of 24 feet, 11 3/4 inches. Forbes, who made his Olympics debut in London four years ago, qualified for his second-straight Jamaican Olympic Team while winning his fifth career Jamaican long jump title. He was the only jumper in the field to eclipse the Olympic qualifying standard in the event with his performance.
On Sunday, July 3rd, Fitzroy Dunkley, the runner-up in the 400 meters at the NCAA championships and the anchor for the Tigers’ winning 4×400-meter relay team at the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets this season, and Nickiesha Wilson, a former NCAA champion for the Lady Tigers in the 400-meter hurdles, also qualified for spots on the Jamaican team.
Dunkley took second in the 400 with a time of 45.35 seconds to secure his first Olympics berth while Wilson earned a third opportunity to represent Jamaica when she placed third in the 100 hurdles finals in 12.97 seconds.
