Report and highlights from the 2021 SEC Outdoor Championships as sprinters Terrance Laird of LSU and Tamara Clark of Alabama completed respective men’s and women’s sprint doubles at E.B. Cushing Stadium on Saturday.
Impressive SEC Outdoor Championships Double For Laird
Laird posted a wind-assisted 9.80 seconds to take the 100m and then return to clock a wind-legal 19.82 to secure the 200m on the men’s side.
The LSU junior who earlier took his team from third place to the gold medal in the 4x100m relay to open the day’s schedule, was again speedy down the final straightaway in the 100m but his winning time was aided by a +3.2 m/s tailwind.
Matthew Boling of Georgia also broke 10-seconds in the race, running 9.97s for second place with Florida’s Dedrick Vanover clocking 10.03 for third place to finish ahead of Lance Lang of Kentucky (10.07) and Gators’ Joseph Fahnbulleh (10.11).
Laird returned to secure the sprint double with the 200m win on his way to breaking Justin Gatlin’s meeting record of 19.86s, which was set in 2002 while he represented Tennessee. Fahnbulleh finished strongly down the home straight to nip Boling on the line for second place.
The winning performance on Saturday now means Laird owns the fourth and fifth fastest in collegiate history in the 200 meters which also includes his world-leading 19.81s. He also became the first LSU sprinter to win the men’s sprint double at the SEC Championships since Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake accomplished the feat in 2016.
The Florida sprinter posted a personal-best 20.05 to edge out Boling who ran a 20.06 PB for third. Lang who started the race very strongly was pushed back to fourth but finished with a lifetime best of 20.08.
Clark At The Double As Well
Meanwhile, Clark ran a breezy 10.87 (+2.7 m/s) to dominate the women’s 100m, beating LSU’s Symone Mason who was second with 11.06 and Maia McCoy of Tennessee who ran 11.08 for third place.
The Alabama junior was even more impressive in the 200m and her winning time of 21.89s would have been a collegiate record and the fastest time in the world this year, if it wasn’t assisted by a heavy +4.1 m/s wind reading.
LSU pair Favour Ofili (22.16) and 100m silver medalist Mason (22.37) completed the podium positions.
Arkansas women and men once again showed their strength in depth after going on to secure the team titles, completing the SEC Championships sweep, following the cross country and indoor championships winning displays earlier this season.
Complete Results From The Championships
