HE DID IT. JuVaughn Harrison won an unprecedented OT double in the high jump and long jump. Well prepared for the test, T&FN’s July cover man Harrison had won the same pairing at the NCAA here just two weekends earlier.
The 22-year old LSU junior began his long jump warmups having passed his final high jump attempts and seeing his win in that event confirmed as Shelby McEwen missed his final attempt. That gave Harrison 45 minutes before the long jump would begin in 100-plus temperatures. But during the warmups the semi-unexpected happened when the rest of the program was postponed to the cooler evening, pushing his LJ start to 8:30.
Damarcus Simpson led off the competition with a 26-1 (7.95), followed immediately by Marquis Dendy’s 26-¾ (7.93). Harrison, jumping 4th in the order, hit the board well enough and stretched out to 27-½ (8.24), a mark which would seem to be enough to make the team. On the other hand, the terrific depth in other events at this meet gave rise to the sense that a 27-foot effort might not be enough.
Rio gold medalist Jeff Henderson, T&FN’s provisional favorite, was the next to move into the top 3, displacing Dendy with a 26-6¼ (8.08) effort to move into 2nd.
Jarrion Lawson, who had been introduced with the other members of the 12-man field, was last up for the first round and unexpectedly passed. “My right hamstring hurt badly,” he explained. “I saw everyone I could. Ultimately I couldn’t go.” Lawson, the ’17 USATF winner and WC runner-up that year, had been tabbed for 2nd on the chart.
The second round began with Simpson reaching a lifetime best 26-10½ (8.19), moving him into the silver position. He was immediately bumped down when Dendy claimed the lead with a 27-6 (8.38) seasonal best. Harrison reached 26-9 (8.15) before Steffin McCarter moved into contention with a 26-6½ (8.09) to conclude round 2 as Lawson passed again.
Round 3 produced the only changes among the top three places. Harrison hit the big one, getting a little more than half the board on a lifetime best 27-9½ (8.47) that improved his yearly U.S. list lead. McCarter took up the challenge with a 27-1¼ (8.26) that displaced Simpson in 3rd.
As the air continued to cool — relatively speaking — so too did the competition as none of the major contenders improved in the final three frames, with only Dendy reaching 27-feet.
His double win completed, Harrison fielded questions during his green-screen virtual media interview, confirming what had become obvious: “It was a great day for me to compete,” adding that his long jump PR “didn’t have anything to do with the long day. I have been doing both on the same day in college. My body is pretty used to it.”
He may be used to this double, but it’s been a long time since anyone else has been. It was 1912 when Jim Thorpe became the most recent American to compete in both jumps at the Olympics.
MEN’S LONG JUMP RESULTS
(June 27; winds ranged from +1.2 to –0.9)
1. JuVaughn Harrison (LSU) 27-9½ (8.47) PR (AL)
(27-½, 26-9, 27-9½, 26-5, 26-3, f) (8.24, 8.15, 8.47, 8.05, 8.00, f);
2. Marquis Dendy (unat) 27-6 (8.38)
(26-¼, 27-6, 26-10½, 26-1¾, 27-2½, 27-2) (7.93, 8.38, 8.19, 7.97, 8.29, 8.28);
3. Steffin McCarter (Tx) 27-1¼ (8.26) =PR
(f, 26-6½, 27-1¼, 27-½, 26-6½, f) (f, 8.09, 8.26, 8.24, 8.09, f);
4. Damarcus Simpson (unat) 26-10½ (8.19) PR
(26-1, 26-10½, 26-¼, f, 26-3¾, 26-6¼) (7.95, 8.19, 7.93, f, 8.02, 8.08);
5. Isaac Grimes (FlSt) 26-6½ (8.09) PR
(f, 26-5½, 25-6, 26-3½, 26-6½, 25-11½) (f, 8.06, 7.77, 8.01, 8.09, 7.91);
6. Jeff Henderson (adi) 26-6¼ (8.08)
(26-6¼, 26-3½, 25-9½, 25-6, 25-4¾, 25-4½) (8.08, 8.01, 7.86, 7.77, 7.74, 7.73);
7. Cameron Crump (MsSt) 25-11½ (7.91)
(25-11½, 25-8¼, f, 24-1, 25-8¼, 25-1¾) (7.91, 7.83, f, 7.34, 7.83, 7.66);
8. Corey Crawford (unat) 25-11 (7.90)
(25-11, 25-9½, 25-5¼, f, 24-9¾, f) (7.90, 7.86, 7.75, f, 7.56, f);
9. Allen Gordon (Ms) 25-9½ (7.86)
(f, f, 25-9½) (f, f, 7.86);
10. Rayvon Allen (Ok) 25-3½ (7.71)
(25-1¾, 24-11, 25-3½) (7.66, 7.59, 7.71);
11. Trumaine Jefferson (unat) 25-1¾ (7.66)
(f, f, 25-1¾) (f, f, 7.66);
… dnc—Jarrion Lawson (unat).
QUALIFYING (June 25)
Qualifiers: Lawson 26-7¾w (8.12), McCarter 26-7w (8.10), Dendy 26-6½w (8.09), Harrison 26-5½ (8.06), Crawford 26-4¼ (8.03), Allen 26-3¾ (8.02), Henderson 26-3¾w (8.02), Crump 26-2¾ (7.99) PR, Jefferson 26-2¼w (7.98), Gordon 26-¼ (7.93) PR, Grimes 25-10¼w (7.88), Simpson 25-9¼ (7.85);
Non-qualifiers: Rayvon Grey (LSU) 25-9¼ (7.85), Jarvis Gotch (unat) 25-5½w (7.76), Will Williams (unat) 25-4½ (7.73), Treyton Harris (unat) 25-2¾w (7.69), Jason Smith (LBSt) 25-1¾ (7.66), Harrison Schrage (UCLA) 25-0w (7.62), Marquise Goodwin (unat) 24-10 (7.57), Justin Hall (TxT) 24-1¾ (7.36), Kyle Darrow (CVE) 24-¾ (7.33), Charles Brown (unat) 23-10¾ (7.28), Malik Moffett (unat) 23-9½ (7.25), Will Claye (PumaNYAC) 23-6¾ (7.18).