Claxton To Represent Puerto Rico At IAAF World Indoor Championships
IAAF Preview | Time Table | 400-meter Preview
ALBANY, N.Y.—While the rest of the University at Albany track & field team is beginning their outdoor season this weekend, Grace Claxton will finish her indoor season this Friday at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon. She will be representing her home country of Puerto Rico.
“This is a huge opportunity for Grace as she prepares for the Rio Olympics,” said Director of Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Roberto Vives.
Over 148 nations will be represented in this four-day event with 547 athletes entered. Top competitors entered in the 400-meter race include, Courtney Okolo at number one, representing the USA with a best of 50.69. Quanera Hayes is at number two with a time of 51.09, also representing the USA.
Claxton is the sole competitor attending from UAlbany. She maintained a strong indoor season, turning in record-breaking marks and qualifying for the ECAC Championship within her first few meets.
"I'm really excited," said Grace Claxton. "I'm looking forward to competing and doing my best with the help of God."
In her first meet of the season at the Upstate Challenge hosted by Cornell, Claxton won the women's 500-meter race, hitting the ECAC standard in 1:13.80. She was also a apart of the 4x400-meter relay, who also qualified for ECAC, running a collective time of 3:54.81.
At the Penn State National Invitational, she ran 55.26 in the invitational section of the 400-meter for eighth place. Her time also satisfied the ECAC standard. Claxton came in second at the Villanova Invitational with a time of 24.71 in the 200-meter, earning her a personal best and an ECAC qualifying time. She ran in the invitational section of the 400-meter at the Fastrack Invitational, where she ran a 54.78 for fourth place.
In the America East Conference Championships, Claxton earned the Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet. She placed first in the 200-meter, running a time of 24.36. She also defended her indoor title in the 400-meter race with a time of 54.59. The 4x400-meter relay she was apart of also placed first in a time of 3:47.33.
At the ECAC Championships, Claxton earned Performer of the Meet. She won the 400-meter race for the second year in a row. Her time of 52.89 broke the meet record set back in 1983 and qualified her for the IAAF World Indoor Championships. The IAAF qualifying mark was 53.15. Claxton also ran the anchor for the 4x400-relay in 54.0. The team ran a collective time of 3:41.98 to earn second overall and a season's best.
The IAAF World Indoor Championships is four days long, beginning on Thursday, March 17 and concluding Monday, March 20. Claxton will only be competing in the 400-meter race with the preliminaries starting Friday at 3:25 P.M. and semifinals at 10:25 P.M. The finals are set for Saturday at 9:47 P.M.
