UGA's Orji Smashes American Record in Rio

ATHENS, GA — A University of Georgia track and field team member broke her own American triple-jump record at the Summer Olympics in Rio on Sunday.

Keturah Orji, a rising junior, finished fourth overall in the event, missing out on a podium position by just an inch and a quarter.

Her U.S. record-breaking jump, of 48 feet, 3 1/4 inches, came on her very first attempt. Her previous best was 47 feet, 8 inches.

That jump captured her the 2016 NCAA outdoor title in the triple-jump.

After her record-breaking jump, Orji followed up with a pair of fouls, then jumps of 47 feet, 7 inches; 47 feet, 3 inches; and 47 feet, 2.5 inches.

Her performance in Rio caps off a year in which she won a pair of Southeastern Conference titles, two NCAA championships and several records.

The University of Georgia on Sunday also had a former sprinter in the 400-meter dash semifinals and a current sprinter in the 100-meter semifinals.

Lining up in the same heat as Team USA's Allyson Felix, who won gold in the 200 meters in 2012, former Lady Bulldog Shaunae Miller was the runner-up to Felix in the 400-meter semifinals and advanced to the finals.

Cejhae Greene, an Antigua native and current Bulldog sprinter, tied for 18th place in the 100-meter semifinals after raising in the same heat as eventual gold medal winner Usain Bolt, of Jamaica.

After redshirting this year following a transfer from Florida State, Greene will make his Bulldog debut in 2017.

Photo courtesy UGA Sports Information department