University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE LONG JUMPER MADISON REIGNS AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
August 10, 2005 | Women's Track
Aug. 10, 2005
HELSINKI, Finland -- Competing in the finals of her very first major international competition, rising University of Tennessee junior Tianna Madison didn't let a little wet weather hold her back. The American shrugged off the elements Wednesday evening and unleashed a career-topping and school-record leap of 22 feet, 7 1/4 inches to upstage a field of veterans and reign as world champion at the 10th IAAF World Track & Field Championships at Olympic Stadium.
Madison, who won NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles and took second at the USA Outdoor Championships this season, capped her extended sophomore campaign by striking gold at the world.s most important track & field meet outside the Olympic Games. Her victory deposited gold medal number four into the U.S. coffers and vaulted the Americans into the overall lead in the medal table with six total. Those tallies would grow to five and eight, respectively, by the end of the evening.
The UT standout joined Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1987, 1991) as the only American women to win IAAF World Championships in the long jump. Madison also became only the third U.S. female to medal in the event at this meet, following in the footsteps of J.J.K. and Marion Jones (bronze, 1999).
The Elyria, Ohio, product, who often charts a big early jump and waits out the competition, overcame a first-attempt foul and later popped her mark of record on her fifth jump to unseat favorite and leader Tatyana Kotova. With the 59-degree day's cold rain turning into a steady downpour, the Russian had two tries to topple Madison. Kotova came up short, however, and finished with a runner-up output of 22-3 1/2. Eunice Barber of France utilized her sixth jump to stretch the tape to 22-2 1/4 and ascend to bronze status. American Grace Upshaw, meanwhile, was seventh at 21-4 1/4.
"Tianna was very focused and showed a lot of determination today despite the cold and rainy conditions," UT Head Coach J.J. Clark said. "She competed like a champion. It could have been hot or cold -- she was just determined to get this done. If the weather had been better, you may have seen seven meters (23 feet) from her."
"Tianna put together a great season and went from leading the world for much of the season to winning a world title today. Coach Caryl Smith Gilbert did a fantastic job in preparing her for this event, and I also have to credit volunteer coach Charles Simpkins for his involvement in her development and Tianna for her ability to stick to the program they implemented for her."
The only competitor not to register a mark on her first try, Madison came back in round two to throw a readout of 21-11 1/2 on the board. That effort moved her into a tie for second with eventual fourth-place finisher Yargelis Savigne of Cuba. Madison jumped 20-10 on her third attempt and advanced to the finals still deadlocked in second.
While Madison fouled on her fourth trip down the runway, Barber moved herself into second place with a leap of 21-11 1/2. The Lady Vol Athlete of the Year answered the huge gut-check in round five with her second school-best reading in as many days. Her 22-7 1/4 jump erased her Tuesday qualifying round mark of 22-4 3/4 as the standard at Rocky Top and more importantly moved her into the lead with one rotation remaining.
On her sixth jaunt toward the long jump pit, Madison closed out her day with a foul. The Lady Vol sat by while the remaining jumpers in the field took aim at her leading mark. All of them fell short, with only Barber's effort resulting in an improvement to her bronze status.
"We have gone through stages with our program," Clark said. "We had SEC and NCAA champions, we won SEC and NCAA Championships, we had an Olympic gold medalist and now we have a world champion. I am very proud to be the head coach at the University of Tennessee."
Speaking of gold medalists, Dee Dee Trotter, who ran on the victorious U.S. 4x400-meter relay at the 2004 Olympic Games, was also in action at Helsinki on Wednesday. The former Lady Vol and Knoxville native came up short in her bid for an individual medal, finishing fifth in the 400-meter dash final in a time of 51.14. Tonique Williams-Darling, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist, zipped to a season-best 49.55 to take the crown, while American Sanya Richards (49.74) and Mexican Ana Guevara (49.81) collected silver and bronze, respectively. Another U.S. competitor, Monique Henderson, wound up seventh in 51.77. The Americans will now turn their focus to the 4x400m relay prelims on Saturday.
Treniere Clement, a former Georgetown standout who lives in Knoxville and trains with Clark, will run Friday in the 1500-meter prelims, representing the United States, while 2005 Lady Vol senior Toyin Olupona will be in Canada's 4x100m relay pool.
Tianna Madison celebrates winning the IAAF World Championship in the Long Jump. (photo courtesy of IAAF)
| Click on a photo to view larger image | ||
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| Photos courtesy of Kirby Lee of The Sporting Image | ||
| SATURDAY, AUG. 6 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| 800m Prelims 6:45 a.m. ET | ||
| Adv. | Kameisha Bennett$ | 2:01.78p/3rd, ht. 2 |
| Adv. | Hazel Clark% | 2:01.91p/1st, ht. 1 |
| SUNDAY, AUG. 7 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| 400m Prelims 5:55 a.m. ET | ||
| Adv. | Dee Dee Trotter$ | 51.44p/1st, ht. 2 |
| 100m Prelims 8:30 a.m. ET | ||
| Adv. | Toyin Olupona# | 11.61p (w: -1.0)/3rd, ht. 8 |
| 100m Quarterfinals 12:45 p.m. ET | ||
| Didn.t Adv. | Toyin Olupona# | 11.57p (w:-0.1)/7th, ht. 3 |
| 800m Semifinals 1:50 p.m. ET | ||
| Adv. | Hazel Clark% | 1:59.00p/1st, ht. 1 |
| Didn.t Adv. | Kameisha Bennett$ | Did Not Finish |
| MONDAY, AUG. 8 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| 400m Semifinals 3 p.m. ET | ||
| Adv. | Dee Dee Trotter$ | 50.73p/2nd, ht. 2 |
| TUESDAY, AUG. 9 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| Long Jump Prelims 8:15 a.m. ET | ||
| Adv. | Tianna Madison# | 22-4.75/6.83mp!s |
| 800m Final 2:25 p.m. ET | ||
| 8th | Hazel Clark% | 2:01.52 |
| WEDNESDAY, AUG. 10 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| Long Jump Final 12:35 p.m. ET | ||
| 1st | Tianna Madison# | 22-7.25/6.89m!s |
| 400m Final 2 p.m. ET | ||
| 5th | Dee Dee Trotter$ | 51.14 |
| 1500m | ||
| was collapsed to two rounds....prelims slated for Friday | ||
| Treniere Clement% | ||
| FRIDAY, AUG. 12 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| 1500m Prelims 2:15 p.m. ET | ||
| Treniere Clement% | ||
| 4x100m Relay Prelims 3:05 p.m. ET | ||
| Canada (Toyin Olupona#) | ||
| SATURDAY, AUG. 13 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| 4x100m Relay Final 2:40 p.m. ET | ||
| Canada (Toyin Olupona#) | ||
| 4x400m Relay Prelims 3:05 p.m. ET | ||
| U.S. (Dee Dee Trotter$) | ||
| SUNDAY, AUG. 14 AT IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ||
| 1500m Final 1:55 p.m. ET | ||
| Treniere Clement% | ||
| 4x400m Relay Prelims 2:55 p.m. ET | ||
| U.S. (Dee Dee Trotter$) | ||
# - Denotes current Lady Vols
$ - Denotes former Lady Vols
% - Non-Lady Vols coached by J.J. Clark
