The laundry list of Olympic athletes with Barton Community College ties is long and impressive.
From Barton alone, 11 athletes — eight former track and field athletes and two former basketball players — are taking part in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
The lone current Barton athlete competing in the Summer Games — Akeem Haynes, a sophomore-to-be — rounds out the list of 11. He will be competing in the 4x100-meter relay for Canada.
This past spring, Haynes teamed with Travis Thornhill, Demetrius Lindo and Aliaksandr Linnik to lead Barton to the NJCAA national championship in the 4x100 relay at Levelland, Texas, clocking 39.80.
The foursome upset the nation’s top-ranked team, second-place South Plains (Texas) College (39.94).
(Capsules courtesy of Barton Athletics)
AKEEM HAYNES
(4x100-meter relay, Canada)
Haynes ran the third leg on the Cougars’ 2012 NJCAA national champion 4x100 relay team this past spring.
Haynes competed in the 100 in Canada’s Olympic trials, finishing in fourth place. Haynes and his Canadian relay teammates are expected to vie for the bronze medal behind the USA and Jamaican teams.
First-round competition for the 4x100 relay will begin at 1:45 p.m. (CST) on Friday, Aug. 10, with the finals slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11.
TYSON GAY
(100/4x100 relay, USA)
A triple world champion, an American record holder and the second-fastest man in history, Gay will represent the USA in both the 100 and 4x100 relay.
After being sidelined in 2011 because of hip surgery, Gay returned to the track in 2012 and ran the 100 in 9.86 seconds, which ranks ninth in the world this year.
If his last three races are any indication of his future fortune, Gay is destined to leave London with two medals in his second appearance at the Olympics.
Prior to the London Games, the former world champion won the 100 at both the France Areva and London Grand Prix.
Gay was also a part of the record-breaking American 4x100 relay team in Monaco. The team’s meet-record time of 37.61 is also the best relay time in the world this year.
Recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the 200 during the 2008 USA Olympic Trials, Gay’s previous Olympic appearance resulted in disappointment.
Gay missed the 100 finals by one spot, and was a member of the 4x100 relay team that failed to make it out of the first round after a dropped baton resulted in the team’s disqualification.
Gay’s events will begin at 4 a.m. on Saturday in the preliminary round of the men’s 100, with first-round competition scheduled to begin shortly thereafter at 6:30 a.m. The sprinters will return to the track on Sunday for the semifinal round at 1:45 p.m., followed by the finals at 3:50.
Gay will compete as a member of the 4x100m relay team on Friday, Aug. 10, at 1:45 p.m. in the first round.
The finals are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 11, at 3 p.m.
HYLEAS FOUNTAIN
(Heptathlon, USA)
Becoming only the second American to win an Olympic medal in the heptathlon, Fountain enters the London Games seeking another medal to go along with her silver won in Beijing.
Suffering a neck injury in 2009, Fountain has remained a world leader in both the pentathlon and heptathlon despite having limited competition. Leading after the first two events of the 2011 World Championships, Fountain’s performances began to drop and she eventually withdrew from the event.
Fountain is the American pentathlon record holder and owns three heptathlon records. She will start her medal quest with four events today, the opening day of track and field events.
VERONICA CAMPBELL-BROWN
(100/200/4x100 relay, Jamaica)
After winning three medals in the 2004 Olympics, Campbell-Brown defended her 200 title in the 2008 Olympics.
Had the favored Jamaican 4x100 relay team not been disqualified in the finals for a dropped baton, Campbell-Brown most likely would have left Beijing with two gold medals to equal her 2004 feat.
Team Jamaica is again one of the favorites in the 4x100, and Campbell-Brown also enters the 100 with the world’s third best time this year. Campbell-Brown will most likely need to run near 22.00 seconds for a shot at a medal in the 200, a feat she hasn’t accomplished since 2010.
Campbell-Brown’s three-event Olympics will begin with the 100 dash preliminary round today at 4:40 a.m. She will then compete in the 200 on Monday, with Round 1 beginning at 1:20 p.m. She will wrap up her competition in the 4x100 relay, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 9, at 2:20 p.m.
LAVERNE JONES-FERRETTE
(100/200, Virgin Islands)
Jones-Ferrette will be making her third straight Olympic appearance after competing in both the 100 and 200 in 2004 and 2008.
The Virgin Islands record holder in the 60, 100, 200 and 400, she will likely need personal-best times to make the finals. The preliminaries for the 100 is this morning at 4:40.
TABARIE HENRY
(400, Virgin Islands)
Henry returns to the Olympic stage in the 400 after competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In that meet, Henry ran a personal- best 45.19, though he did not reach the final round of competition.
Henry has since competed in numerous world championships, earning fourth place in 2009 and seventh place in 2011. A four-time champion at each of the NJCAA and NCAA levels, Henry also holds eight Virgin Islands records, including both the indoor and outdoor 400 times.
On Saturday, Henry will compete in the 400 at 4:35 a.m. The semifinals will take place at 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, and the finals to follow on Monday at 3:30 p.m.
ALONSO EDWARD
(200, Panama)
A four-time national champion, Edward is considered one of the rising stars in the 200 dash event.
Edward owns the NJCAA national meet record in the 200. He was also a member of Barton’s 4x400 NJCAA national meet record-setting relay team. Edward ran the second leg on the team, consisting of Remuro Henry, Terry Charles and fellow 2012 Olympian Tabarie Henry.
Edward owns Panama’s national record in the outdoor 100 and indoor 200, and earned a second-place finish in the 2009 World Championships.
Making his first appearance in Olympic competition, the 2011 season for Edward was cut short because of injury. But he is now fully recovered and expected to make a run at the medal stand.
Edward will begin his quest on Tuesday, August 7, at 5:50 a.m. The semifinals will be run on Wednesday, August 8, at 2:10 p.m. The finals are scheduled for 2:55 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 9.
ANTANAS KAVALIAUSKAS
(Men’s basketball, Lithuania)
Kavaliauskas is not only the first Barton men’s basketball player to compete in the Olympics, but the first Texas A&M University player to represent his country at the games as well. After missing the team’s cut, Kavaliauskas was a late roster addition after an injury to another player.
Kavaliauskas averaged double figures in points and rebounds during his sophomore season with Barton, earning him 2004 first-team All-Region VI honors. Moving on to Texas A&M, Kavaliauskas earned the 2006 Big 12 Conference newcomer award, followed by second-team all-conference honors his senior year.
Representing his country and earning awards at various levels throughout his playing career, Kavaliauskas has been playing at the professional level in Europe since college.
Lithuania (1-2) is participating in Group A, the same group as Team USA, whom they will play on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
TUGBA PALAZOGLU
(Women’s Basketball, Turkey)
Palazoglu, a guard, scored seven points and had one assist as Turkey fell to the United States on Wednesday, 89-58.
In her first three games, the sharp-shooting Palazoglu is averaging 10.3 points, including 6-for-7 on 3-pointers.
Turkey will need to defeat China in a 10:45 a.m. matchup today to help ensure a better seeding in the knockout stage of the tournament.
RYAN BRATHWAITE
(110 hurdles, Barbados)
Brathwaite will be competing in his second Olympics after taking part in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Leading his semifinal heat with two hurdles to go, Brathwaite struck the remaining hurdles, causing him to finish seventh, thus missing the finals four years ago.
A three-time NJCAA champion, Brathwaite has won numerous events in his young career, including being the youngest 110 hurdles champion at the 2009 World Championships.
Brathwaite, who will open competition on Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 4:10 a.m., has been the Barbados national record holder in the event since 2008.
LEEVAN SANDS
(Triple jump, Bahamas)
The Bahamian record holder in the triple jump, Sands will be competing in his third Olympics. In 2008, Sands set his national triple jump record, earning a bronze-medal finish.
A four-time NJCAA and two-time NCAA champion, Sands set the NJCAA national meet triple-jump record in 2002 with a leap of 57 feet, five inches.
Sands’ qualifying round begins on Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 4:45 a.m. The finals are set for Thursday, Aug. 9, starting at 1:20 p.m.
