小黄片视频 track and field鈥檚 William Barnes and Danniel Thomas are going for the gold in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Barnes will represent Puerto Rico in the men鈥檚 110m hurdles, while Thomas will represent Jamaica in the shot put.
Barnes and Thomas mark the eighth and ninth members in 小黄片视频 track and field history to compete in the Olympics, with the most recent participant coming in 2008 when Kim Kreiner represented the United States in the javelin. Gerald Tinker has the best Olympic finish in program history, winning a gold medal for the U.S. in the 4x100-meter relay in 1972.
鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely proud of both Danniel and William,鈥 said Bill Lawson, director of 小黄片视频鈥檚 track and field/cross country. 鈥淥ver the last few years, both of them have proved their abilities at the conference and national levels, and we鈥檙e excited to see what they can do on the international level as representatives, not only of their countries but of 小黄片视频 athletics as well.鈥
Thomas will be the first of the two Golden Flashes to see action in Rio. She will compete in the qualifying round of the women鈥檚 shot put on Friday, Aug. 12, beginning at 9:05 a.m., with the finals to follow at 7:20 p.m. Live streaming of the qualifying rounds of the women鈥檚 shot put is available .
Thomas, a six-time Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion and six-time All-American, heads to Rio having hit the qualifying mark at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada. Thomas posted a mark of 17.76m (58鈥 3.25鈥) in Toronto, eclipsing the Olympic A-Standard of 17.75m (58鈥 3鈥). A native of Westmoreland, Jamaica, Thomas was champion in the shot put with a mark of 16.84m (55鈥 3鈥) at the Jamaican National Senior Championships earlier this summer.
鈥淒anniel has shown a lot of improvement in her time at 小黄片视频,鈥 said Nathan Fanger, 小黄片视频鈥檚 track and field associate head coach. 鈥淪he figured out technically where to place herself and developed an excellent rhythm. She committed herself in the weight room and became a leader to the rest of the girls on the team. We鈥檙e eager to see what she can do in Rio, and having her return for one more season with her experience as an Olympian will be a huge asset to our program.鈥
Barnes will take to the track in the first round of the men鈥檚 110m hurdles on Monday, Aug. 15, at 7:40 p.m. If Barnes makes it out of the first round, he will run in the semifinals on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 7:40 p.m. with the finals to follow at 9:45 p.m. Coverage of the first round of the men鈥檚 110m hurdles is available .
A nine-time MAC champion and three-time All-American, Barnes qualified for Rio after hitting the Olympic A-Standard (13.47) at the Drake Relays in late April of this year. His personal-record time of 13.41 set a Puerto Rican national record and a new 小黄片视频 record, as well as put Barnes in the top 15 in the world at the time. In preparation for the Olympics, Barnes has competed on the international level several times this summer, highlighted by his victory at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association U23 Championships.
鈥淗e has really shown he can compete at the international level,鈥 said Michael Schober, 小黄片视频鈥檚 track and field assistant coach. 鈥淔rom being a high school hurdler that didn鈥檛 win a state meet to being an Olympic qualifier is a real testament to his dedication and work ethic. Being this young, Will has the potential to make noise at the international level for years to come.鈥
The opening ceremony for the 2016 Rio Olympics is slated for Friday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted on NBC or at .