Gulfport’s gold medalist, Brittney Reese, is headed to the Olympics for the 4th time
Gulfport native Brittney Reese easily qualified for a bid to her fourth Olympics Saturday night during the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
On her fifth jump of the night, Reese reached a season best of 7.13 meters to take command in first place.
It was the third best jump of the season on the international level, earning her the 13th U.S. championship of her career.
Reese jumped 6.94 meters to move into first place on her first leap Saturday, and held that position the rest of the way. On her fourth leap, she hit 7.11 meters.
The other two Olympic qualifiers are University of Texas star Tara Davis (7.04) and Quanesha Burks (6.96).
Reese, 34, is in search of her third Olympic medal in the women’s long jump after winning gold at the 2012 games in London and silver in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.
Olympic competition in the women’s long jump is scheduled to start on Aug. 1 at the National Japan Stadium in Tokyo.
Reese finished atop the field in the first round of qualifying on Thursday, registering a season’s best jump of 6.86 meters.
The 2004 graduate of Gulfport High School also competed at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Ole Miss.
Reese is a seven-time world champion in the long jump.
This story was originally published June 26, 2021 at 9:36 PM.
