TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – As The University of Alabama starts its new academic year this week, the Crimson Tide’s track and field program is coming off an extraordinary summer on the national and international stage. Past and present members of the UA program enjoyed great success at the United States World Championship Trials, the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games, among other summer competitions
The summer included Kirani James taking silver in the men’s 400 meters at the World Championships, giving him gold, silver and bronze in the event at both Worlds and the Olympic Games over the course of his extraordinary career. Champion Allison won gold at the World Championships as part of Team USA’s 4×400-meter relay, while Remona Burchell earned silver at the World Championships as part of Jamaica’s 4×100-meter relay contingent.
Jereem Richards, who finaled at the World Championships, earned double gold at the Commonwealth Games, taking top honors in the 200 meters with a Commonwealth Games record and leading Trinidad and Tobago to gold in the 4×400-meter relay. Natassha McDonald also earned relay gold at the Commonwealth Games, leading Canada to top honors in the women’s 4×400-meter relay. Burchell also notched a bronze medal as part of Jamaica’s relay quartet.
The Tide also saw a trio of alums win titles at the U.S. Championships, including Quanesha Burks (long jump), Daniel Haugh (hammer throw) and Shelby McEwen (high jump). Two more, Tamara Clark (200 meters) and Allison (400 meters) earned silver medals and joined Burks, Haughs and McEwen on Team USA’s World Championships squad.
In the distance realm, Eliud Kipsang ran a 3:36.69 to take sixth in the men’s 1,500 meters at the 2022 Kenyan Trials.
Alabama From the 2022 World Championships
- The Crimson Tide saw 14 past and present student-athletes earn a spot at the 2022 World Championships, which were held in Eugene, Ore.
- Kirani James (Grenada) took silver in the 400 meters with a time of 44.48
- Champion Allison anchored Team USA’s gold-medal 4×400-meter relay which ran a 2:56.17 for the win
- Remona Burchell ran the third leg in the prelims of Jamaica’s 4×100-meter relay, earning a silver medal after the country took second in finals
- Quanesha Burks (USA) lept 6.88 meters to finish fourth in the finals of the women’s long jump, just a centimeter off the bronze medal
- Shelby McEwen (USA) jumped 2.30 meters in the finals to take fifth place in the men’s high jump
- After anchoring Canada’s 4×400-meter relay, which ran a 3:28.49 to qualify for finals, Natassha McDonald led off the Canadian quartet which ran a 3:25.18 to take fourth place in finals
- Allison (USA) advanced to the finals of the men’s 400 meters, where he ran a 44.77 to take fourth place
- Jereem Richards led Trinidad and Tobago to a spot in the finals of the 4×400-meter relay with a 3:02.75, before returning in finals to lead his squad to a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:00.03
- Tamara Clark (USA) advanced to the final of the women’s 200 meters, where she finished sixth with a time of 22.32
- Richards (Trinidad and Tobago) earned a spot in the final of the men’s 200 meters, where he ran a 20.08 to take sixth in the world
- Daniel Haugh (USA) finished second in the prelims of the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 79.34 meters, advancing him to finals, where he took eighth with a toss of 78.10 meters
- Tarsis Orogot, the first Ugandan man in history to run the 200 meters at the World Championships, advanced to the semifinals where he ran a 20.35 to take 13th overall
- Olivia Fotopoulou posted a top-30 finish in the women’s 200 meters, with a time of 23.25, taking 27th overall
- McDonald (Canada) posted a top-30 finish in the women’s 400 meters, finishing 28th with a time of 52.41
- Portious Warren (Trinidad and Tobago) took 25th in the women’s shot put with a best toss of 16.65 meters
Alabama at the Commonwealth Games
- The Crimson Tide saw six alums compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Birmingham, England
- Jereem Richards (Trinidad and Tobago), double gold, leading the TTO 4×400-meter relay to a winning time of 3:01.29 from the anchor spot and netting gold in the 200 meters with a Commonwealth Games record of 19.80, the only runner under 20.0 seconds
- Natassha McDonald (Canada) earned gold as part of Canada’s 4×400-meter relay, running the leadoff leg to pace the quartet to a 3:25.84, finishing a second ahead of the field, while also finagling in the women’s 200 meters, taking seventh in a time of 23.21
- Remona Burchell (Jamaica) earned a bronze medal as part of Jamaica’s 4×100-meter relay, running the third leg of the quartet that posted a 43.08, while also earning a spot in the semifinals with a time of 11.46, and finishing 17th overall in the semifinals with a time of 11.48
- Alex Amankwa (Ghana) took seventh in the final of the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:48.95 after finishing third in his heat of the prelims with a 1:48.26
- Flippa Fotopoulou (Cyprus) earned a spot in the finals of the women’s long jump, taking eighth place with a leap of 6.47 meters
- Mauricia Prieto (Trinidad and Tobago) finaled as part of TTO’s 4×100-meter relay, running the third leg on the sixth-place squad which clocked a 43.86, while also taking 12th overall in the semifinals of the 200 meters in a time of 23.58
The Crimson Tide at the United States World Championships Trials
- A big week at the United States Track and Field Championships resulted in five Alabama track and field alumni earning a spot at the 2022 World Athletics Championships
- Crimson Tide graduates Quanesha Burks, Shelby McEwen, Daniel Haugh, Tamara Clark and Champion Allison all punched their ticket to represent Team USA during the U.S. Championships, which were also held in Eugene at Hayward Field
- Tokyo Olympians Quanesha Burks, Shelby McEwen and Daniel Haugh all won individual titles to earn their way to the World Championships
- Burks won the long jump with a leap of 7.06 meters on her first attempt to make her the only woman over seven meters at the championships
- McEwen was the only athlete to clear 2.33 meters in Eugene, giving him the U.S. high jump title and a spot at Worlds
- Haugh posted a personal best of 80.18 meters in the hammer throw to earn his spot on Team USA, making him the only athlete in the competition over 79 meters
- In addition to the Tide’s three champions, Tamara Clark and Champion Allison both earned silver medals at the U.S. Championships
- Clark took second in the 200 meters with a PR of 21.92 to punch her ticket to Worlds, and fifth in the 100 meters with a PR of 10.88
- Allison took second in the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 43.70 to earn his way back to Eugene
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
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