Former Georgia sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo posted a top-eight finish in the 200-meter dash final and five combined event Bulldogs battled in their opening events on the fifth day of the track and field action in Tokyo, Japan, at the Olympics in Olympic Stadium Tuesday.

Two current Bulldogs and two former UGA performers make up four of the 23 decathletes at the Games while Team USA’s Kendell Williams is also one of the heptathletes in the field.  

Following three events, former Bulldog Garrett Scanting (America) is in fifth (2,647 points), current senior Johannes Erm (Estonia) is in 14^th (2,517), former Bulldog Maicel Uibo (Estonia) is in 20^th (2,419) and current junior Karel Tilga (Estonia) is in 22^nd (2,358) in the decathlon.  

After a pair of events in the heptathlon, Williams stands in fifth by 69 points with 2,107 points.  The final pair of events in the dec’s first day and the last two of the hep’s opening day will be completed on Wednesday morning ET.

This was the fifth of 10 days of track and field events (Athletics) as the Games continue.

Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas concluded her first final of the week by taking eighth place in the 200m.  Running out of lane nine, Miller-Uibo had the second-best reaction time out of the gate (0.145) and then crossed the finish line in 24.00.

Miller-Uibo returns in the 400m semifinal at 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

A native of Nassau, Bahamas, Miller-Uibo is the defending Olympic champion in the 400m after her lunge for the line in Rio.  She ran a 50.88 to win the 2013 NCAA indoor 400m title for the Lady Bulldogs and remains No. 12 on the all-time collegiate performer list.  Miller-Uibo is second on both the school’s all-time indoor list (50.88) and outdoor list (50.70).  This marks her third Olympics.

Williams sped to a 12.97 in the 100m hurdles to open the heptathlon, becoming the only competitor in the field to break 13 seconds and hold a 15-point lead over the nearest heptathlete.  She cleared 5 feet, 10 ¾ inches in the high jump to score 978 points and move to fifth in the second and final event of the session.

A native of Marietta, Ga., Williams was a seven-time NCAA champion for the Lady Bulldogs between 2014-17, including becoming the first woman in collegiate history to win four NCAA titles in the single event (pentathlon).  The former collegiate record holder was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year three times and still owns six of the 10 best collegiate pentathlon scores in history.  The 2017 SEC Female Athlete of the Year and Honda Award winner is at her second Olympics.

Scantling started his first Games by taking seventh in the 100m with a 10.67, which scored him 935 points.  He slipped to 10^th after the long jump when his second attempt measured 7.30m (23-11.50).  Scantling surged into fifth place after his second attempt in the shot put measured 15.59m (51-1.75).

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Scantling narrowly missed the 2016 Games after finishing one spot out in fourth at the U.S. Trials in the decathlon.  However, this year Scantling won the Trials and punched his ticket to Tokyo.  Temporarily retiring from the sport at the 2016 Trials, starting a career as a financial analyst and even having a stint with the Atlanta Falcons as a receiver before restarting his training in 2019, Scantling finished in the top three in the heptathlon at three separate NCAA Indoor Championships and was fourth in the decathlon at the 2014 NCAA outdoor meet.  He also won a record-setting three SEC heptathlon titles as a Bulldog.  

Erm, who did not compete during the outdoor season after sustaining an injury during the indoor postseason, began his decathlon competition with an 11.04 in the 100m for 852 points and was in 15^th place.  He built to a mark of 7.36m (24-1.75) on his third try and completed the event in 15^th overall.  Erm also had his best effort on his final attempt in the shot put, going 14.60m (47-10.75) and edging up to 14^th.

A native of Tallinn, Estonia, Erm captured the 2019 NCAA decathlon championship and is the No. 7 all-time collegiate performer in the decathlon.  The five-time All-American has won a pair of Southeastern Conference titles and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in addition.  Erm is expected to return for his final year as a Bulldog in 2021-22.  He is at his first Olympics.

Uibo, who is married to Shaunae Miller-Uibo, got going in his second Games with an 11.32 in the 100m to put him in 23^rd place with 791 points.  He topped the other Bulldogs with a mark of 7.37m (24-2.75) sandwiched in between his first and third attempts.  Uibo finished the second event in 19^th place.  Uibo started his shot put series with a 13.95m (45-9.25) and will enter into his next event in 20^th.

A native of Polva, Estonia, Uibo was a four-time SEC champion in the multi-events for the Bulldogs, collected a pair of NCAA decathlon titles and was a six-time First Team All-American, including a runner-up finish in the heptathlon at the 2014 NCAA indoor meet.  The 2015 SEC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year remains the No. 6 all-time collegiate performer in the decathlon with a score of 8,356.  He is at his second Olympics.

Tilga began his first meet since winning the 2021 NCA decathlon title with an 11.31 in the 100m for 793 points, which put him in an early 22^nd place.  He opened with a mark of 6.77m (22-2.50) in the long jump and only took two of his three attempts, finishing 22^nd overall after the second event.  Tilga remained in his spot following the shot put after his second try measured 15.25m (50-0.50).
 
A native of Tartu, Estonia, Tilga became the third competitor in history to sweep the NCAA heptathlon and decathlon titles in 2021 with school record scores.  He topped teammate Kyle Garland the indoor national championship in the heptathlon with the second-best score in NCAA history (6,264 points).  Tilga then became the No. 2 all-time collegiate performer in the decathlon outdoors after tallying 8,484 points on the Spec Towns Track in Athens during the regular season.  He is at his first Olympics and is expected to be back in the red and black this coming year. 

In addition to Miller-Uibo’s 400m semifinal on Wednesday, the combined event Bulldogs will be back in action.  Later that day (occurring on Thursday morning in Tokyo), Scantling, Uibo, Tilga and Erm will work on finishing their last seven of 10 events in the decathlon at 5:30 a.m.  Williams will also finish her final four events of the heptathlon at 6:05 a.m.