Indiana University Athletics
Wilson Punches Ticket to Olympics, Wins Triple Jump
7/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
July 6, 2008
EUGENE, Ore. - Former Hoosier standout Aarik Wilson won the finals in the triple jump at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials on July 6. The victory means that he will join former IU teammate David Neville as an Olympic teammate in Beijing, China when the Olympic Games begin on August 6, 2008.
Wilson's jump of 17.43m (57-2.25) was a new Hayward Field record, adding a centimeter to the mark recorded by Charles Simpkins in 1986. Wilson's mark was 20 centimeters better than the second-place jump by Kenta Bell.
Wilson last competed for the Hoosiers in 2005, when he won the last four of his ten Big Ten championships. He was also an All-American ten times at Indiana.
Kyle Jenkins also competed in the triple jump finals, rounding out his first trip to the Olympic Trials with a ninth place finish. Jenkins recorded a jump of 16.20m (53-1.75).
The duo of Wilson and Neville will be the first male Hoosiers and the first pair of Hoosiers to compete in track and field since 1996, when Bob Kennedy and Jim Spivey both ran the 5,000m at the Atlanta Olympics. The last-time a Hoosier earned an Olympic medal was 1984 in Los Angeles, when Timi Peters finished third competing for Nigeria in the 1,600m relay and Sunder Nix took home the gold in the same event for the U.S.
The Olympic Games open on August 6, 2008. To keep track of all Hoosiers in Beijing, stay tuned to IUHOOSIERS.com.
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