July 30, 2004
MOSS, Norway -
Complete Results in PDF Format (...and in Norwegian)
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Tiger sophomore Hans Uldal scored 7,733 points in the decathlon at last weekend's Norway National Championships to reset Missouri Track & Field's school record and earned an Olympic Games "B" standard in the process. On August 6th, Uldal will find out if he has made the Norwegian Olympic Team.
Uldal scored personal bests in the first two events, the 100-meter dash and the long jump, on his way to his overall personal best to finish runner-up in the competition. Uldal started the contest with a time of 11.06 in the 100 meters, topping his previous best by two-hundredths of a second. In the long jump, Uldal leaped 24 feet, 3 inches (7.39m), bettering his old mark by three inches. At June's NCAA Championships Uldal placed fifth and scored his previous overall best of 7,661 points, coming off a total of five event personal bests.
"You set the tone in the first two events," said Matt Candrl, Assistant Track & Field Coach. "When you can go out, PR in the first two events, you can tell yourself to relax, do your job, and everything should go alright. Hans may not have (got a personal best) in each event, but he had great performances across the board. He didn't have to go out and be a superstar in each event, but that makes you real excited for the future, knowing that there is more out there."
Uldal broke the school record which was held by fellow Norwegian, Knut Sommerfeldt who scored 7,685, winning the 2003 Big 12 Championship. Sommerfeldt scored 7,463 points and finished third at last weekend's meet.
In the United States, athletes advance to the Track & Field portion of the Olympic Games by holding an Olympic Trial in which the top three in each event advance to the games, provided they have meet the Olympic Games "A" standard. In Norway, any athlete who has hit at least a "B" standard is eligible to be selected to represent their country in the games.
On August 6th, the Norwegian Olympic Committee will select between Uldal and 28-year-old Benjamin Jensen who scored 7,820 points and won the meet. Jensen has reportedly had injury problems throughout the season, which may be a factor in selection.
Also in the meet, former Tiger Rannveig Kvalvik, second at Mizzou all-time in the women's heptathlon, took the crown, winning with 5,224 points.
For more coverage of Missouri Track and Field's post-season run, visit mutigers.com. More will be released once information is attained.