Prep Notebook: Thompson sets record at nationals
From staff reports
Article Launched: 07/28/2008 11:46:52 PM PDT
Serra Gardena High School Turquoise Thompson emphatically closed out her track and field season with a record-setting performance at the Junior Olympic national championships in Omaha, Neb., last weekend.
Thompson broke Ebony Collins' 2006 record in the 400-meter hurdles with a sizzling 57.67-second mark, then followed that up with a second-place finish in the 400 meters with a blazing 54.18 mark, just 1 hour and 15 minutes after the hurdles race. Collins' record was 57.78.
It was particularly satisfying for Thompson, who was forced to sit out the high school track season after transferring from Long Beach Poly in accordance with CIF transfer rules and was forced to deal with a nagging tendonitis injury in her Achilles'.
"She culminated her season with a great victory and got a record that probably won't be touched for several years," said Serra coach Lori Smith-Thompson, also her mother. "A national record is a once-in-a-lifetime type thing."
Smith-Thompson said she knew her daughter was poised for a brilliant race when she saw her at the starting line.
"Knowing it was the last race of the season, she just had that conviction in her eyes at the starting line," Smith-Thompson said. "I've never seen her like that. I knew she was going for the record at that point. She came out and got over that first hurdle, and she had aggression in her body language and was already attacking the next hurdle. It was unbelievable.
"Then when she came up on the last hurdle, she was able to see the clock and was like, `Wow, I'm still in the 50s,' and she blazed it home for the finish line. We had to wait a few minutes for the announcer’s results, but she was ecstatic when he announced the National record, and I of course was, too."
Smith-Thompson said she will shut her daughter down for a few months before beginning preparations for the indoor season and eventually Serra's season.
"She needs to get rest for her Achilles' tendon," Smith-Thompson said. "It was a grueling, frustrating year. I'm glad it ended well for her. Now she can relax and have fun and enjoy her summer before her senior season."
