By Jack Rodgers Sports Anchor/Reporter
with help from Georgia Sports Communications
EUGENE, Ore. --- Georgia junior Justin Gaymon clocked a personal-best time to finish fourth in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. with help from Georgia Sports Communications
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Stumble It!Thanks to Gaymon's 48.46 finish, the Stewartsville, N.J., native topped his own school record by .07 seconds and is now the first alternate for the U.S. Olympic team since the top three finishers automatically qualified for the Games.
In addition, former Bulldog All-American LaRon "Bud" Bennett finished eighth during the second trip of his career to the final round of the 400 hurdles at the Trials.
Gaymon, who was the top collegiate finisher in the finals, started from his spot in lane eight and finished behind Angelo Taylor by just .04 seconds. The Trials were Gaymon's first meet since he was disqualified during the finals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships for a trail-leg violation.
"I thought I was running really well at the beginning of the race and going extremely fast between each hurdle,"
Gaymon said. "I wasn't hurdling very well, but I was making up time between hurdles. During the first 300 meters, I felt like I was ahead and I couldn't even hear anyone behind me. But I looked over my shoulder and saw the guys coming and just tried to kick it in the final stretch. Then I looked at the scoreboard and realized I had finished fourth, but I can't be too mad since this was against the top hurdlers in the world."
Georgia sprints coach Jon Stuart, who accompanied Gaymon and Bennett to Eugene, had similar thoughts about Gaymon's performance.
"(Justin) had the fastest time in the nation this year, he was the (Southeastern Conference) champion for the second straight year and now he finishes just four hundredths of a second away from automatically qualifying for the Olympics," said Stuart. "He has had a great year and I feel like this is some redemption for NCAAs. I am really proud of him for how well he has developed this season."
Gaymon is a three-time SEC champion for the Bulldogs and a four-time All-American.
