Olympic-bound JuVaughn Harrison hopes to bring back gold in long, high jumps
Fred Jeter | 7/8/2021, 6 p.m.
Among the highest compliments for any athlete is to be mentioned in a comparison to Jim Thorpe.
JuVaughn Harrison has earned that right. The Louisiana State University standout is nicknamed “Mr. Jumps” for good reason.
The 22-year-old is the first since the iconic Thorpe in 1912 to double up as both the high jump and long jump king at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Competing in 100-plus degree heat in Eugene, Ore., the biomedical engineering major won the high jump at 7-73⁄4 and the long jump at 27-91⁄2.
The 6-foot-4 native of Huntsville, Ala., will travel to Tokyo later this month with LSU teammate 400-meter qualifier Michael Cherry.
“I’m going there with the goal of winning both events,” Harrison told the media in Oregon. “I don’t like to lose.”
Making history is nothing new for Harrison. He also became the first to win the long jump and the high jump at the NCAA meet, and he did it three times.
Globally, Harrison ranks second in both the long and high jumps.
Russian Ilya Ivanyuk ranks first in the high jump while Miltiadis “Miltos” Tentoglou of Greece is No. 1 in the long jump.
