Another busy day for Austinites and ex-Longhorns at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Berlin today.
The top story is former Horn Trey Hardee, who currently sits in third after the first day of the decathlon. Hardee, an NCAA champion and record-holder while at UT, led for the first three events but slipped down in the standings after a sub-par high jump.
Nonetheless, he’s still having a career performance: In his best outing ever, at last year’s Olympic Trials, he scored 4,454 on the first day. In Berlin, he currently has a score of 4,511, only one point behind Cuba’s Yunior Diaz and 44 behind leader Oleksiy Kasyanov of Ukraine.
The remaining five events resume at 3:05am Austin time (we’re seven hours behind Berlin). The whole thing can be seen live at www.universalsports.com. The championships run through Sunday.
Other local highlights after the jump:
• Former Longhorn Andra Manson qualified for Friday’s final in the men’s high jump. He’s one of the favorites.
• Reagan High graduate Brendan Christian, competing for the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, finished last in his semifinal of the 200 meters and did not advance.
• Texas ex Marshevet Hooker won her opening heat in the 200 meters and qualified for tomorrow’s semifinals. Her time of 22.51 seconds was the fastest of all the heats.
• In the men’s 1,500 meters final, Lopez Lomong – who currently trains in Austin – finished eighth in 3 minutes, 37.62 seconds, and Texas ex and Marble Falls native Leonel Manzano placed 12th in 3:40.05. Despite not medaling, the two milers are making steady progress in their championship careers: In the 2007 championships, Manzano didn’t make it out of his opening heat, and in last year’s Beijing Olympics, both runners were eliminated in the semifinals, so they can be proud of making their first world-level championship final.
For profiles of Manzano, Hardee, and Manson, see “From Burnt Orange to Gold,” Aug. 8, 2008.
This article appears in August 14 • 2009.