(Photo by John Kelley)
[su_spacer size=”40″] Maicel Uibo (decathlon; Estonia), Reese Hoffa (shot put; U.S.), Ian Burrell (marathon; U.S.) and Kibwe Johnson (hammer throw; U.S.) are scheduled to battle on the men’s side. Shaunae Miller (400-meter dash; Bahamas), Jenny Dahlgren (hammer throw; Argentina), Levern Spencer (high jump; St. Lucia) and Sultana Frizell (hammer throw; Canada) are slated to compete for the women.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Hoffa, Dahlgren, Spencer and Frizell all competed in the same facility at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Those four as well as Miller and Johnson also represented their respective countries in London at the 2012 Games. Hoffa won the bronze medal in the shot put during the last Olympics.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Uibo is the only current Bulldog in the field at the World Championships. The Polva, Estonia, native is the two-time defending NCAA decathlon champion, a five-time First Team All-American and has captured three Southeastern Conference decathlon titles in his first three years. He starts in the decathlon on Friday, August 28 and will wrap up on Saturday, August 29.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Hoffa, who was the 2007 World Outdoor champion, has developed into the world’s most consistent performer in the throws for more than a decade. The five-time champion at the USA Championships also won the 2006 World Indoor Championships before earning his first Olympic medal in 2012. For the Bulldogs, Hoffa was a five-time All-American and won the 2001 SEC outdoor title. He throws the shot on Sunday, August 23.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Burrell will run in the meet’s first event (marathon) at 7:35 a.m. on Saturday morning (7:35 p.m. ET on Friday night). Burrell was a three-time All-American for the Bulldogs on the track and swept the 3000-meter run and the 5000 at the 2007 SEC Indoor Championships.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Johnson competed for Georgia during the early 2000s before transferring to Ashland University to wrap up his academic and track career. He has developed into one of the nation’s dominant hammer throwers, winning the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and taking ninth at the Games. Johnson also won the 2011 and 2012 USA Outdoor Championships and will compete on Saturday, August 22 (9:30 p.m. ET on Friday night).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Miller has officially introduced herself to the professional track and field world in 2015. At only 21 years old, she is No. 2 on the 2015 world list in the 400 (49.92) and is No. 5 on the 200 list (22.14). The 2012 Olympian competed for Georgia for a single season in 2013 before joining the professional ranks. During her brief time in Athens, Miller won the NCAA indoor 400 title and was a two-time All-American. She competes in the qualification round of the 400 on Monday, August 24.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Dahlgren set the collegiate record in the hammer (239 feet, 4 inches, a mark that remains the NCAA’s No. 1 all-time effort) during her years in red and black and left with three NCAA titles (two in the hammer and another in the weight). She has now competed at the last three Olympics for her native Argentina. Dahlgren is scheduled to throw the hammer on Wednesday, August 26.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Spencer, a competitor at the last two Olympics, carried St. Lucia’s national flag at the 2012 Olympics and is coming off back-to-back high jump victories at this year’s Pan Am Games and the NACAC Championships. Spencer, who owns the school record after clearing 6-4.25 at the 2007 World Championships, earned four All-America certificates with the Bulldogs. She will compete in Beijing on Thursday, August 27.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Frizell will be joining her friend and former teammate Jenny Dahlgren in the hammer on Wednesday, August 26. Frizell has advanced to the last two Olympic Games, won her event at the recent Pan Am Games and is a two-time gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games. She was also an All-American for the Bulldogs during her time in Athens.
Schedule and live results for the IAAF World Championships: http://gado.gs/4fm