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UF Track & Field: McGee, Claye Nab Olympic Team Berths

Courtesy of University Athletic Association

BY RICK HURTADO

McGee and Claye will join Taylor Manson in Tokyo, who qualified for the 4×400 relay pool Sunday night.

Gator Greats Will Claye and Cory McGee secured their spots on Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics Monday evening inside Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

McGee was the first Gator Monday to make Team USA team after finishing second in the 1,500 meters finals. The UF record holder finished with personal-record time of 4:00.67. She will be joined in Tokyo this summer by Elle Purrier St. Pierre, who won the race, and third-place finisher Heather MacLean.

Meanwhile, Claye made the team for the third consecutive time in the triple jump and once again became the American champion. It was a close competition that came down to his last jump, in which Claye secured the win with a leap of 17.21 meters (56 feet, 5.75 inches) [+0.1].

McGee and Claye will join current Gator Taylor Manson in Tokyo, who finished seventh in the 400 meters and was named to the 4×400 relay pool Sunday night. Manson logged a new personal-record time of 50.79 seconds, the third-fastest time in school history, to make her first Olympic team.

Both McGee and Claye will return to the track later this week to compete for berths in the women’s 800 meters and the men’s long jump, respectively.

Florida currently has eight Gators and alumni set to compete at the trials, including reigning world champion Grant Holloway, American long jump champion Marquis Dendy, and school record holder in the long jump (indoors) Claire Bryant, among others.

The top three finishers in each event, so long as they have the Olympic qualifying standard, will automatically earn spots on Team USA for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The games were slated to take place last year but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Games are scheduled to open on July 23.

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