University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Stars Shine At IAAF World Championships
August 29, 2015 | Track & Field
***UPDATED***
BEIJING -- Former and current Tennessee stars represented Team USA and combined for four medals at the 15th IAAF World Championships at Beijing's National Stadium in the People's Republic of China.
UT alum Tianna Bartoletta (formerly Tianna Madison) earned gold in the long jump with a mark of 7.14 on her sixth attempt. Bartoletta earned gold 10 years after winning her first gold in the long jump at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. After fouling on her first attempt, Bartoletta safely put in a mark of 6.95m/22-9.75 on her second jump to sit in second place behind Ivana Spanovic's 7.01/23-0 national record for Serbia. She fell to third when Shara Proctor catapulted herself from fourth to first with her third-round 7.07m/23-2.5, which set a British national record. Facing bronze in the sixth round, Bartoletta unleashed a world-leading and personal best 7.14m/23-5.25 in the final round to win.
Justin Gatlin took silver in the 100m with a time of 9.80 in the final, behind only Jamaica's Usain Bolt (9.79). Gatlin had the fastest 100m time of the World Championships with a 9.77 in the semifinals. He also claimed silver in the 200m with a time of 19.74 (Bolt won with a time of 19.55). Gatlin is having an outstanding 2015, setting new personal records in the 100m (9.74 at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in May) and 200m (19.57 at the USATF Championships in Eugene, Ore., in June).
UT alum Aries Merritt, who is the world record holder in the 110h and a 2012 Olympic champ, took bronze in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.04, just one hundredth of a second behind silver medalist Hansle Parchment (13.03) of Jamaica. Merritt's battle back from kidney problems has been inspiring. He earned bronze on Friday night and is scheduled to receive a kidney transplant from his older sister LaToya on Tuesday. He ran a 13.12 (the best U.S. time of the year) in May and placed third at the USATF Outdoor Championships in June to earn his spot at the World Championships.
Senior pole vaulter Jake Blankenship represented the U.S. and cleared a height of 5.55 meters, but did not advance to the finals. Blankenship previously competed for Team USA in the Pan American Games earlier this summer, earning bronze with a height of 5.40 meters. Earlier this summer, he punched his ticket for the World Championships when he cleared 5.60 meters (18 feet, 4.25 inches) at the USATF Championships in Eugene, Ore. Blankenship, who was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world and No. 2 in the NCAA this past outdoor track season, next prepares for his final collegiate season at Tennessee.
UT alum Rolanda Bell competed in the 3000m steeplechase for Panama. She clocked a 10:33.78 in Heat 3 on Aug. 24. In June, Bell set a new personal best in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:47.16 at the New York adidas Grand Prix.
