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USATF Championships Preview - Women's Triple Jump

posted by AnnGaff, a Women Talk Sports blogger
Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:32am PDT

About AnnGaff:

Chief Technical Officer, Women Talk Sports. I competed in Track & Field and Cross-Country in college at the University of Nebraska and competed professionally in Track & Field (3000m Steeplechase) fr...more

EDITOR'S NOTE: AnnGaff and LesleyHiggins are writing these previews for the USA Track & Field Championships, taking place this weekend in Eugene, OR, based on their firsthand Track & Field experience. Gaffigan and Higgins competed against each other in college, with Gaffigan representing the Nebraska Huskers and Higgins representing the Colorado Buffs. Both women competed last year in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Olympic Trials. This year, the two are spectators-from-afar of the USATF Championships/World Team Trials; Higgins is out with a broken foot and Gaffigan gave birth to a baby girl in May.

Triple Jump Final: Friday, June 26 at 4:50pm

Top 10 entry marks:

Shakeema Welsch 14.17m
Toni Smith 13.99m
Erica McLain 13.96m
Amanda Thieschafer 13.86m
Yvette Lewis 13.82
Crystal Manning 13.80
Shani Marks 13.77
Lauren Martin 13.53
Sherita Williams 13.52
Blessing Ufodiama 13.46

My picks:

1. Shakeema Welsch
2. Erica McLain
3. Yvette Lewis

Shakeema "Sky Walker" Welsch (pictured left) seems to be eager to avenge her disappointment at the Olympic Trials last summer, where she placed second and leaped past the Olympic "A" standard but did not make the Team because the recorded wind was too high for her mark to be legal. Instead, Trials champion Shani Marks and 3rd-place Erica McLain, who had already hit the "A" before the Trials, made the trip to Beijing with their USA uniforms.

2009 is a different story however, as Welsch leads the list of the US triple jump marks for this season and looks ready for a good performance in Eugene. None of the women entered have hit the World "A" standard, and only Welsch has hit the "B", so she needs to win in order to go and any other women trying to make the team must hit the "A" mark of 14.00m Friday.

Although Yvette Lewis is currently #2 on the 2009 US list, I put McLain down to take the #2 spot since she made the Olympic Team with the "A" standard last year and may just pull out a similar performance this afternoon.

USATF Championships Schedule, Results & Quotes

USATF Championships Day 1 Recap

USATF Championships Day 2 Recap

USATF Championships Day 3 Recap

USATF Championships Day 4 Recap

More USATF Championships Previews:

Watch the USATF Championships:

On TV:

ESPN, June 26, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. ET
ESPN, June 27, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. ET
NBC, June 28, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET

Online:

LIVE All Weekend at Flotrack.org

View AnnGaff's Profile

Filed Under:
Track & Field, Sports

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