The 31st Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro ends today and every former K-State athlete in Rio has finished competing.
Heptathlete Akela Jones started things off last week and got off to a good start finishing day one in third place after the first four events.
“For her to be in third place after the first day in her first Olympic Games and her sixth heptathlon of her life is impressive,” K-State track and field head coach Cliff Rovelto said to K-State Sports. “There is a lot more there, which speaks to her promising future.”
Jones finished 2nd in the 100-meter hurdles, fourth in the high jump, fifth in the shot put and eighth in the 200-meter dash.
Day two didn’t go as well for the first time Olympian from Barbados as she finished fourth in the long jump before finishing 20th or lower in both the javelin and the 800 meter run. Jones finished her first Olympic heptathlon in 20th place.
Jones, who is the only Wildcat competing in Rio with two events, competed in the high jump Thursday morning along with fellow Wildcat high jumper and 2012 Big 12 Indoor High Jump Champion Alyx Treasure who is competing for her home country of Canada.
Jones came up short in the qualifying jumps, missing all three attempts at 1.89 meters to finish in 31st place.
Treasure, however, had a career performance, clearing the first three bars on her first attempt and finishing after clearing 1.94 meters, a personal best.
“Alyx had a personal best in her first Olympic Games and made the final,” Rovelto said. “That is pretty special.”
Treasure cleared the first bar on her first try but couldn’t clear 1.96 meters. She finished in 17th place.
Also competing in the high jump is London 2012 Olympics silver medalist Erik Kynard.
Kynard qualified for the finals on Sunday after hitting the first three bars on his first try before missing 2.26m/7-05 on his first attempt. He was in fifth place going into the final Tuesday evening.
In the final, Kynard cleared the first four bars of the night before missing all three attempts at 2.36m/7-08.75 sending him home in sixth overall without a medal.
“After qualifying, I honestly felt that it was going to take 2.38m for Erik to medal,” Rovelto said. “There was no doubt in my mind that the three guys that medaled were going to be clean through 2.36. Erik just did not have 2.38 in him today. He competed well, making 2.33 on a less-than-great night. I am proud of his toughness.”
110-meter hurdlers Balazs Baji (Hungary) and Jeffery Julmis (Haiti) qualified for the semifinals on Monday.
Bali finished second in his heat and 11th overall with a time of 13.52 while Julmis finished third in his heat and 22nd overall with a time of 13.66.
“Jeff looked like his old self,” Rovelto said. “He really finished strong in his race. Balazs ran his race in pouring rain. He has had a great year thus far.”
The 110-meter hurdle semifinals Tuesday night did not treat former Wildcats well as Baji finished 15th and missed out of the finals while Julmis tripped over the first hurdle and was eventually disqualified but still finished the race.
Despite falling on the first hurdle, Jeffrey Julmis of Haiti got up and finished the race. https://t.co/LJf9pvPIbV https://t.co/jphajf6FHn
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 17, 2016
The final two K-State Olympians have already finished their events.
Puerto Rican Beverly Ramos finished 71st in the marathon finals while Jamaican discus thrower Shadae Lawrence finished 22nd overall in her first Olympics appearance.
Lawrence is the only Olympian who will return to K-State in the fall where she’ll be a sophomore.
“Shadae was the first thrower in the meet and had a solid effort,” Rovelto said. “Unfortunately, there was a long rain delay and she could not get back in rhythm. She had a phenomenal year for a freshman and to cap it off with an appearance in the Olympic Games is pretty special.”
