Photo by: John Nepolitan
Knight Qualifies for World Championship Final
8/9/2017 3:44:00 PM | Track and Field
Huge kick leads rising senior into world final
In the biggest event in track and field this year, Syracuse rising senior Justyn Knight proved he not only belonged, but was a force to be reckoned with on the world distance running stage.
Knight out-kicked some of the world's best runners to finish fourth in his heat of the IAAF World Championship and advance to Saturday's final.
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Knight closed from 12th to fourth in the final 800-meters to finish in a time of 13:30.27, which was good for fourth and claimed him one of the five automatic qualifying spots.Â
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Ethopia's Yomif Kejelcha won the heat in 13:30.07, followed closely by Great Britain's Mo Farah. Farah is the reigning Olympic gold medalist. Kejelcha's country mate Muktar Edris took third in 13:30.22, with Knight just 0.05 seconds behind.
The qualifying marks the latest in the decorated career for the SU standout. Majoring in social work at the David B. Falk college, Knight's junior season at Syracuse wrapped up with a top-three finish at the NCAA Championships in each of his three seasons. He placed second at the cross country championships in the fall, tying the best finish by a Syracuse runner in program history. He also took silver in the 5k at the NCAA indoor championships before concluding the season with a third place finish at the outdoor championships.
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He claimed four ACC individual titles this season as well, bringing his career total to seven, excluding the four team titles he's played a hand in. He also swept the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Male Performer of the Year honors through all three seasons in 2016-17.
He'll compete in the world final at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday on NBC Sports Network, in which 15 runners will race for a world title.
Knight out-kicked some of the world's best runners to finish fourth in his heat of the IAAF World Championship and advance to Saturday's final.
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HE DID IT!!! WHAT A KICK! @justyn_knight IS GOING TO THE FINALS OF #London2017!!! pic.twitter.com/CCUnycklnZ
— Syracuse XC/Track (@CuseXCTF) August 9, 2017
Knight closed from 12th to fourth in the final 800-meters to finish in a time of 13:30.27, which was good for fourth and claimed him one of the five automatic qualifying spots.Â
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This is what closing speed looks like. #TCB pic.twitter.com/5nThxGjuFD
— Syracuse XC/Track (@CuseXCTF) August 9, 2017
Ethopia's Yomif Kejelcha won the heat in 13:30.07, followed closely by Great Britain's Mo Farah. Farah is the reigning Olympic gold medalist. Kejelcha's country mate Muktar Edris took third in 13:30.22, with Knight just 0.05 seconds behind.
The qualifying marks the latest in the decorated career for the SU standout. Majoring in social work at the David B. Falk college, Knight's junior season at Syracuse wrapped up with a top-three finish at the NCAA Championships in each of his three seasons. He placed second at the cross country championships in the fall, tying the best finish by a Syracuse runner in program history. He also took silver in the 5k at the NCAA indoor championships before concluding the season with a third place finish at the outdoor championships.
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Thank you to the entire @Cuse family for showing me support from miles away. It truly means a lot, there is no better school than Cuse???? https://t.co/3gNnyPnEMO
— Justyn Knight (@justyn_knight) August 10, 2017
He claimed four ACC individual titles this season as well, bringing his career total to seven, excluding the four team titles he's played a hand in. He also swept the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Male Performer of the Year honors through all three seasons in 2016-17.
He'll compete in the world final at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday on NBC Sports Network, in which 15 runners will race for a world title.
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