KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Fans of Indiana State track & field will be following the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) 2013 World Championships in Moscow next month as a former Indiana State athlete and a current Sycamore will be in the competition.
Former Sycamore and current volunteer assistant coach Kylie Hutson will compete in her second straight World Championships (women's pole vault) while current Indiana State athlete Greggmar Swift will be competing for his native Barbados (men's 110 meter hurdles).
Both will begin their competitions on Sunday, August 11, with Swift running in the 110 meter hurdle preliminaries with heats starting at 1:40 a.m. (ET) - 9:40 a.m. in Moscow. Hutson will compete in the qualification round of the women's pole vault which will start at 11:10 a.m. (ET) - 7:10 p.m. in Moscow.
The semifinals and finals of the 110 meter hurdles will run on Monday, August 12, with the semifinals at 11:05 a.m. (ET) – 7:05 p.m. in Moscow – and the finals at 1:30 p.m. (ET) – 9:30 p.m. in Moscow. The women's pole vault final will be held on Tuesday, August 13, starting at 11:35 a.m. (ET) – 7:35 p.m. in Moscow.
Hutson competed at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea, after winning the 2011 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championship with a vault of 15'-3” (4.65m). She finished seventh in Group “A” at the World Championships with a vault of 14'-9” (4.50m).
She earned her second trip to the World Championships for Team USA by finishing second at the 2013 USATF Outdoor Championships in June with a vault of 15'-1” (4.60m).
Hutson is currently tied for eighth in the world standings with USA's Mary Saxer at 15'-5” (4.70m). The former Sycamore cleared the height, her outdoor personal best, in winning the Sycamore Open Pole Vault Invitational just before the USA Championships. Hutson cleared 15'-7” (4.75m), her indoor personal best, in a second place finish at the 2013 USATF Indoor Championships.
Both trail Jennifer Suhr, the top vaulter in the United States, who ranks second in the world at 15'-9” (4.80m) and Cuba's Yarisley Silva who tops the rankings at 16'-0¾” (4.90m). Suhr set a world record in winning the 2013 USATF Indoor Championship with a vault of 16'-5½” (5.01m) and also won the 2013 USATF Outdoor Championship with a vault of 15'-5” (4.70m). Suhr also won the Gold medal at the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games.
Hutson has been competing in Europe in preparation for the World Championships but her time overseas did not start well as she failed to clear the bar in her first competition at Sotteville, France, on July 8. She came back to win the pole vault competition at the Stabhochsprung Meeting in Rottach, Germany, by clearing her European best of 15'-3¾” (4.67 meters). Hutson followed that up with a seventh place finish at the Spitzen Leichtathletik EA Classic Meeting in Luceane, Switzerland.
She will compete in Jockgrim, Germany, on July 23, and then conclude her European Tour at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games in London July 26-27.
Swift has also had a busy summer, placing second at the Barbados National Championship and then competing at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia.
He ran a personal best 13.48 in the finals of the 110 meter hurdles to place second at Barbados National Track & Field Championships for the third straight year. Ryan Brathwaite won the race with a National Championship record time of 13.23 with Swift second and Shane Brathwaite third (13.50) which is the same finish as at the Barbados Olympic Trails a year ago.
Swift's previous best was 13.49 which he posted twice during his career, the last time in the quarterfinals of the 2013 NCAA East Preliminary. He currently ranks 39th in the world standings for the 110 meter hurdles.
The Sycamore, competing for his native Barbados, advanced to the finals of the men's 110 meter hurdles at the 2013 World University Games with a second place finish in the third heat of the qualification round (13.75). Swift fell for the first time in his career during the finals and did not finish the race.
Swift is not the first Sycamore to fall in the finals of the 110 meter hurdles at the World University Games. Indiana State's Aubrey Herring reached the finals at the 2001 Games in Beijing, China, and fell during the race.
Swift competed in the men's 110 meter hurdles for his native Barbados at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzen, China, finishing ninth in the semifinals with a time of 13.68 and just four hundredths of a second shy of advancing to the finals.
He has represented his native Barbados well, both in collegiate competition in the United States and in world competition for his national team. Swift earned First Team All-American honors with a seventh place finish at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships and won his second straight MVC Outdoor title in the event.
Swift had a big year in world competition in 2012 as he took Bronze at the North America Central America Caribbean Under 23 Championships (NACAC), placed second at the AAB National Track & Field Championships to earn a spot on the Barbados Olympic Team, and placed fourth in the fifth heat at the 2012 London games. Besides the World University Games in 2011, Swift was sixth at the Central American and Caribbean Championships (CACC).
2013 IAAF World Championships: http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships
