Pro Hogs

2 former Razorbacks win silver; 2 more lose out on bronze

Silver medal winner, United States' Sandi Morris celebrates after the women's pole vault final, during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

It was a good Friday night for former Arkansas women’s athletes at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as Sandi Morris and Veronica Campbell-Brown earned silver medals and Taylor Ellis-Watson helped put herself in position to win a gold medal.

Morris, the 2015 NCAA indoor champion as a senior for the Razorbacks, competed in her first Olympic final and took second by clearing 15 feet, 11 inches.

Morris, 24, missed three attempts at 16-0, including her final try when she appeared to have plenty of height before her left thigh hit the bar and knocked it off. If Morris had cleared that jump, she would have won the gold medal.

Greece’s Ekaterini Stefanidi took the gold medal. She also cleared a best of 15-9, but was awarded first place based on having one fewer miss than Morris at earlier heights.

Morris, who set the American record earlier this year at 16-2, made 15-9 on her second attempt Friday night, which moved her from fifth to second place.

Former Razorback Tina Sutej, competing for Slovenia, finished 11th at the pole vault with a best clearance of 14-7 1/2.

Campbell-Brown, 34, earned her eighth Olympic medal when she ran on Jamaica’s 400-meter relay, which finished second to the U.S.

It was the fifth Olympics in which Campbell-Brown has won a medal, including two gold medals in the 200 in 2004 and 2008.

Campbell-Brown, a four-time All-American in her only year competing for Arkansas in 2004, began her Olympic career with a silver medal on Jamaica’s 400 relay in 2000.

Ellis-Watson, an 11-time All-American for Razorbacks who was a senior this year, ran the second leg on U.S.1,600-meter relay that had the fastest time in the preliminaries at 3:21.42.

The U.S. women will be looking to win its sixth consecutive gold medal in the 1,600 relay in tonight’s final.

While it was a big night for former Arkansas female athletes, former Razorbacks Tyson Gay and Jarrion Lawson lost out on earning a bronze medal in the men’s 400 relay.

The U.S. team — with Gay running the third leg — crossed the finish line in third behind Jamaica and Japan for an apparent bronze medal, but then was qualified for what judges ruled was an illegal pass between leadoff man Mike Rogers and Justin Gatlin outside of the exchange zone.

Lawson didn’t run in Friday night’s final, but he would have earned a medal because he ran in Thursday’s preliminaries. Lawson also missed out on a medal in the long jump, where he took fourth place.