: Newsday : Jelani Beckles : 14.06.2021
TT athlete Tyra Gittens earned a bronze medal in the women's high jump when the curtain closed at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Saturday.
Gittens cleared the bar at 1.87 metres to grab third spot.
The bronze medal meant the Texas A&M student ended the championships with three medals - one gold, one silver and one bronze.
Gittens also claimed gold in the women's heptathlon on Saturday with a total of 6,285 points and on Thursday took silver in the women's long jump with a leap of 6.68m. It was her last chance to qualify for the Olympics in the heptathlon and high jump events.
Last month, Gittens ended the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships just two points shy of the women's heptathlon Olympic qualification standard of 6,420 points.
However, Gittens has qualified for the Olympics in the long jump after achieving the standard of 6.82m earlier this season.
On Friday, TT's Akanni Hislop was part of the Louisiana State University quartet which grabbed gold in the men's 4x100m relay in 38.48 seconds. Georgia finished second in 38.54 and Florida State ended third in 38.60.
Dwight St Hillaire of TT ran leg three for Kentucky in the men's 4x400m final. Kentucky finished eighth in the nine-team final in 3:03.63. It was a close race as the winning team North Carolina A&T snatched gold in 3:00.92.
In the men's 400m final, St Hillaire's time of 45.20 was enough for a fifth place finish. Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T took gold after stopping the clock in 43.85.