Olympics / Team USA Local Olympians Excel in Track & Field in Rio by Daniel Popoloski August 15, 2016 Many local Olympians participated in day nine and ten of the Olympics, with some medal contenders seeing their dreams fade, while others qualify for their event finals. Keturah Orji of Mount Olive fell just three centimeters short of an Olympic bronze medal in women’s triple jump, finishing in a heart breaking fourth place. Orji broke her own American record on the way, jumping a remarkable 14.71m, or 48’3”. However, it wasn’t enough, as she was edged throughout the competition, as she recorded that jump on her first attempt. Since the event was fielded first in 1996, no American women have ever won a medal in triple jump. What made the result even more heartbreaking, was that Orji’s jump had a wind reading of +0.0, while Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan, the woman who won bronze, had a wind reading of +0.3. Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia took home the gold, while Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela won the silver. Glastonbury’s Donn Crabal surprised many by finishing with the third best time in the men’s 3000m steeplechase qualifying, securing him a spot in the final on Wednesday morning. He finished seventh in that event in 2012, and is looking for a better performance in Rio. He will be joined in the final by his two American teammates, Evan Jager and Hillary Bor. Cabral and Jager became the first American men since 1984-1988 to make consecutive steeplechase finals. Cabral barely clinched a spot into the games, as he finished third barely after turning on the jets in the final 200m. Lastly, Deajah Stevens of Bayside, NY, finished with the second fastest overall qualifying time in the heats of the women’s 200m sprint. The time of 22.45 seconds was more than enough to win her heat, and place in her the semifinals on Tuesday night, with the finals for the event set for Wednesday. She will be joined in the semis with fellow Americans Torie Bowie, who won silver in the 100m earlier this week, and Jenna Prandini. The three upset American sprinting legend and defending Olympic gold medalist Alyson Felix in the U.S. Olympic Trials, so they have big shoes to fill over the next couple of races. Post Views: 1,272 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Daniel Popoloski Dan is a Staff Writer here at DoubleGSports.com with a focus on Team USA and the Rio Olympics Latest posts by Daniel Popoloski (see all) Team USA Proves it Can Win without Phelps, Lochte - July 30, 2017 Sydney McLaughlin becomes first Repeat Gatorade Athlete of Year - July 18, 2017 Local Swimmers Looking to Thrive at World Championships - July 18, 2017 Sydney McLaughlin Dominates New Jersey Meet of Champions - June 14, 2017 Related TopicsAlyson FelixDeajah StevensDonn CrabalKeturah OrjiRio OlympicsTeam USATrack & Field Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 27, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 106: Newsday’s Neil Best (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 12, 2021 More in Olympics / Team USA Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics The 2021 Summer Olympic games are scheduled to take place from July 23 –... You Know I’m Right, Episode 94: Olympic Gold Medalist Lilly King (Audio/Video) On the 94th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst was joined by olympic... The Tokyo 2021 Olympics Will Feature New Amazing Sports Surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, karate, baseball and softball will compete at the Summer Olympics. You Know I’m Right, Episode 82: NBC’s Mary Carillo (Audio/Video) On the 82nd episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Local Swimmers Cap off Final Day of Swimming Local Athletes Participating around the Rio Olympics