Skip to main content

Kendall Ellis Earns Bronze Medal, 6 Trojans Advance To Semifinals At Tokyo Olympics

Jul 31, 2021

Kendall Ellis earned a bronze medal with the USA mixed 4x400 relay team and Isaiah Jewett in the men's 800m, Anna Cockrell, Amalie Iuel, Dalilah Muhammad and Gianna Woodruff in the women's 400m hurdles and Andre De Grasse in the men's 100m all advanced to event semifinals during the second day of the 2020 Olympics at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan today (July 31). 

  • Ellis (USC 2018) ran the second leg for USA's mixed 4x400m relay which makes history with a bronze medal in the inaugural running of the event at the Olympics.  The team posted a season-best time of 3:10.22, just 0.01 seconds out of second place.  USC now has had at least one track and field athlete earn a medal at every Olympic Games since 1904, except 1908 when no Trojans competed.  Also in the mixed 4x400m, Nicole Yeargin (USC 2021) ran the second leg for Great Britain's team which placed sixth with a time of 3:12.07.
  • All four athletes with USC ties – Dalilah Muhammad, Anna Cockrell, Amalie Iuel and Gianna Woodruff - advanced to the women's 400m hurdles semifinal on Aug. 2 at 4:35 a.m. PT.  Muhammad (USC 2012) won the fifth heat and had the fastest qualifying time of 53.97 in the heats to automatically advance.  Cockrell (USC 2021) took third in the first heat with a time of 55.37 to automatically advance. Her time was 14th among the qualifiers. Amalie Iuel (USC 2017) finished sixth in the same heat with a time of 55.65 and had to wait out all of the heats to see if she qualified.  When all were complete, Iuel had qualified with the 20th time overall.  Gianna Woodruff (current USC grad student/Washington undergrad) took second with a time of 55.49 in the third heat and finished 15th among the qualifiers. 
  • Jewett (USC 2021) went out fast in the first men's 800m heat and finished fifth with a time of 1:45.07.  The top three of each heat and the next six fastest times would advance to the semifinal on Aug. 1 at 4:35 a.m. PT.  It turned out Jewett had pushed his heat to the fastest times by far of the six heats and he qualified sixth overall on time, posting a faster time than four of the heat winners.
  • Andre De Grasse (USC 2015) had the top qualifying time in the men's 100m dash heats with a season-best time of 9.91 (+0.6).  He advances to the men's 100m semifinal on Aug. 1 at 3:15 a.m.
  • Tynia Gaither (USC 2016) placed sixth in her women's 100m semifinal heat and finished 21st overall with a time of 11.31 (+0.0).  She will compete later in the games in the women's 200m.

Among the Trojans in action on the third day of action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be Rai Benjamin (M-400m H semifinal), De Grasse (M-100m semifinal), Jewett (M-800m semifinal) and Michael Norman (M-400m heats).