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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Reese Takes Fifth In Long Jump At Summer Olympics
8/22/2008 | Track and Field
Maureen Higa Maggi of
“It was a good feeling jumping in the finals because you know you are just a few jumps away from reaching your goal of a gold medal,” Reese said. “Even though I came up short of winning a medal today, I am still determined to win a gold medal at the next Olympics.”
NBC and NBC HD will air coverage of the women’s long jump final Friday evening during the 7:00-9:00 (CT) time slot.
“I am very proud of the season Brittney had, and her fifth place finish is something of an accomplishment in itself,” head coach Joe Walker said. “She just never could get her run down correctly today. Had she been able to really hit one, I think the results would have been better. This is just the beginning of a great career. I love the way she competes and I love the way she goes about her daily life. This was an experience of a lifetime for most, but for her I think it’s just the beginning.”
With her competition in the Summer Olympic Games, Reese became just the sixth track and field athlete in school history to appear in the Olympics. Her fifth place finish Friday caps one of the greatest seasons in school history as she accumulated numerous conference and national awards.
During the indoor season, Reese set a new American Collegiate record at the Tyson Invitational with a distance of 22-04.24, which at that time was the best jump in the NCAA, the best in the
Reese became the first female in school history to win an individual NCAA championship as she accomplished the feat with a mark of 22-02.25 to give Ole Miss its 11th track and field national championship in school history.
At the conclusion of the year, Reese was selected as the SEC Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Year, named All-SEC first team, was an NCAA All-American and was the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association south region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.
Reese set the outdoor school record and posted the best long jump mark in the world at the time of her jump with a distance of 22-09.00 at the LSU Alumni Gold. Since that time, Reese set a new school record in the long jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a mark of 22-09.75 as she earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team.
She went on to again win the Commissioner’s Trophy at the SEC Championships as she won the long jump and finished second in both the high jump and triple jump. In addition, she became just the third track and field athlete in school history to win back-to-back individual titles at the SEC Championships.
At the MidEast Regional, Reese set the meet record in the long jump with a mark of 21-10.75, and also posted the school record in the high jump with a height of 6-00.50. For her efforts, she was named to the All-MidEast Regional team. Days later, she won her second NCAA title in the long jump as she recorded a distance of 22-09.00.
Reese was once again SEC Outdoor Female Field Athlete of the Year and was also selected as the National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCA.
