NORFOLK, Va., - The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will be well represented in track and field in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. A total of nine current and former student-athletes from five countries will compete in the Summer Games of the XXX Olympiad when Opening Ceremonies commence at Olympic Stadium on Friday, July 27, 2012.
“We are proud and elated for all of our present and former MEAC student-athletes’ participation and associations with the Olympics, “said Commissioner Thomas. “We wish them well and hope that they bring home a medal.”
Former Hampton track & field athlete and NCAA champion Francena McCorory will compete for the United States in the women's 400m dash. McCorory, who won three NCAA titles in the events, came in third with a time of 50.43 to qualify for this year’s games.
McCorory joins Kellie Wells as former Hampton track athletes competing in London. Wells qualified with a second-place finish time of 12.77 in the 100m hurdles to earn a spot on the United States team.
Current Lady Pirate Emmy Fraenk will represent the Netherlands in the 400m dash next week. The sophomore was a member of the 4x400m relay team that captured gold at the 2012 MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
Morgan State alum Allison Randall, who holds the school record in the discus, captured a first-place mark with a throw of 55.92 meters to advance to the London games. Randall set the Jamaican National record with a throw of 61.21 meters earlier this year.
UMES’ Lenora Guion-Firmin will aid the French team in the 4x400m relay. The UMES school record holder earned a silver medal in the 4x400m relay in the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland last month.
Former All-American Norfolk State track athletes Chris Brown and Chandra Sturrup will compete in the in London for their native country, the Bahamas.
Brown, a silver medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics will appear in his fourth Olympic Games. He holds the Bahamian national record in the 400m dash and will compete in that event as well as the 4x400m relay.
Sturrup will be competing in the summer games for the fifth time. She is a two-time Olympic medalist that was a member of the Bahamian 4x100 meter relay teams that won silver in Atlanta and gold in Sydney.
In addition, former NSU athlete April Holmes will compete as a member of Team USA in the 2012 Paralympic Games, also to be held in London beginning August 29 through September 9. Holmes, the world record holder in the T44 class 100, 200 and 400m races, was involved in a train accident in 2001 that injured her leg and resulted in the left limb being amputated.
She will attempt to defend her gold medal from 2008 in the women's 100 meters and will also run in the 200 meters.
Savannah State former track and field athlete and 2012 MEAC Woman of the Year runner-up, Amara Jones will also compete for the Bahamas. Jones qualified as an alternate for the 2012 Bahamian National Olympic Team in the 4x100 meter relay event.
The 2012 Olympic Games in London officially begin on Friday, July 27 with the opening ceremony. A complete schedule of events is available at /www.olympic.org.
