Florida's Grant Holloway raises his arms as he wins the men's 110 meter hurdles during the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Austin, Texas, Friday, June 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Gator track team well represented at USATF Outdoor Championships

There will be a strong showing of Florida Gator track and field athletes this year at the 2019 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships as 17 athletes represent the University of Florida in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Headliners

Headlining the stacked roster of Gators at the meet is two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time reigning IAAF World Championships gold medalist Christian Taylor. Taylor will look to continue his dominant run in the triple jump. His spot at the World Championship is already secured as he was last year’s champion.

Olympic silver medalist and reigning World Championships attendee Will Claye will compete in triple jump and long jump. Claye is a three-time Olympic medalist. He took home silver at the 2017 World Championships in triple jump.

Claye is this year’s world leader in the event with a career-best mark of 18.14 meters. This ranks him third on the all-time list. He sits just seven centimeters behind former teammate Christian Taylor on the world all-time list. Claye also ranks third among Americans this year in long jump.

Finishing off the Gator headliners is 2019 Bowerman finalist Grant Holloway. Holloway is fresh off his collegiate career where he became the first man in history to sweep the indoor and outdoor high hurdles NCAA titles three consecutive years. In addition, he broke a 40-year-old collegiate record to win his third straight 110-meter hurdles title this past June. His collegiate record of 12.98 seconds is the world-leading 110 hurdles time.

Other Notable Gators

There are a few other notable Gators who are looking to make a return to the World Championships. This includes 2016 Olympic gold medalists Kerron Clement (400-meter hurdles), 2017 World Championships finalist TJ Holmes (400-meter hurdles), 2013 and 2015 top-five World Championships finisher Omar Craddock (triple jump), 2017 World Championships 4×100 relay pool member Kyra Jefferson (200 meters) and 2013 World Championships qualifier Cory McGee (1,500 meters).

Meet Schedule

Viewers can stream the meet starting tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. on NBC Sports Gold. Friday and Saturday’s events start at 1:30 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. respectively with the conclusion of the meet Sunday night. Athletes at the USATF Outdoors are competing for spots at this fall’s World Championships, scheduled for Sept. 28 through Oct. 6 in Doha, Qatar.

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