ALBANY, N.Y. – For the first time in program history, the University at Albany will send a member of its women's track & field team to participate in the Olympic Games. Grace Claxton will compete for her native Puerto Rico in the 400m hurdles in Rio de Janeiro.
Claxton first ran for Puerto Rico's national team in 2015 as a member of the women's 4x400m relay team. She joined former Olympian Carol Rodriguez and two other collegians: Pariis Garcia from St. John's, and Alethia Marrero from Indiana State. Rodriguez, a former USC Trojan, had reached the semifinal round of the 400m dash in the 2012 London Olympics. Garcia had placed runner-up to Claxton at the 2015 ECAC Outdoor Championships in the 400m. Marrero had placed fifth in the 800m run at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Claxton's relay team competed in three races over two meets during the summer of 2015. First, they ran at the Central American Championships, where they won in 3:35.71. Next, the team ran at the Pan American Games, placing eighth in the trial round, and then sixth overall in the finals.
Claxton transferred in to UAlbany from la Universidad del Sagrado Corazon in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She arrived as the reigning Puerto Rican national champion in the 400m dash. Her personal bests in the 100m (11.82), 200m (24.08), and 400m (53.10) would have already placed her fourth, third, and first all-time in UAlbany history. In her first meet as a Great Dane, which was also her first-ever indoor meet, Claxton set a new indoor school record in the 400m of 55.07, surpassing the previous mark of 55.19 set in 2012 by Allison Rogers. She lowered the record further two meets later to 54.85.
In her first championship meet as a member of the Great Danes, Claxton competed in three events. She won the 400m dash, lowering her own school record to 54.17, which also set a championship meet record, surpassing the previous mark of 54.31 set in 2009 by Maine's Vicki Tolton. She also won as a member of the 4x400m relay, and placed fourth in the 200m dash.
One week after conference championships, Claxton raced at Boston University's Last Chance Meet. In her 400m race was American Olympian Francena McCroroy. Claxton placed fourth overall in 53.59, lowering her school record once again. Additionally, the mark set a new Puerto Rican indoor national record, surpassing the previous mark of 54.17 set in 2012 by her soon-to-be teammate, Carol Rodriguez.
The following week, Claxton returned to Boston with her UAlbany teammates for the ECAC Indoor Championships. On tap for Claxton was an entry schedule that included at least two, and possibly four, 400m races over two days of competition. In the trials of the open 400m, Claxton lowered her school record for the final time of the season, qualifying for finals in first place with a time of 53.49. In the finals, she won with a time of 53.67. Finishing second was another soon-to-be teammate, Pariis Garcia, who ran 54.22. After a second-place and indoor school record in the 4x400m relay, Claxton had run four 400m races, clocking no slower than 54.62.
Claxton's first outdoor meet for UAlbany marked a return home to Puerto Rico. Competing in the 400m, Claxton won the Spring Break Classic in 54.05, and placed second in the 200m in 24.29. Though she had already run under the outdoor 400m school record twice during the indoor season, Claxton's first outdoor effort in the event placed her second all-time behind Allison Rogers' 53.92 mark set in 2013.
It was at this time that Claxton began her career in the 400m hurdles. The motivation behind the idea for Claxton to try the event stemmed from the success that Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Roberto Vives had experienced with alumni Joe Greene and Alie Beauvais in the event. Like Claxton, Greene and Beauvais excelled in the open 400m, but may have had more potential in the 400m hurdles if they could successfully translate their prowess in the open race to the hurdles. Greene and Beauvais both ended up breaking the 50-second barrier in the 400m hurdles while at UAlbany.
Claxton's first attempt at the 400m hurdles came at the Raleigh Relays. She placed third overall in 1:01.50. She ran the hurdles again at UAlbany's Spring Classic, winning in 1:01.72. Her big breakthrough in the event came at the 2015 Penn Relays, where she placed third overall, setting a new school record of 58.52. She surpassed the previous mark of 58.89 set in 2009 by Kamilah McShine.
Claxton competed in both the open 400m and the 400m hurdles at her first America East Outdoor Championships. She won both events in school and championship record fashion, finishing in 53.35 in the open race (surpassing Northeastern's Ahndraea Allen's 2004 mark of 53.55) and 58.51 in the hurdles (surpassing New Hampshire's Alison Poulin's 1993 mark of 58.71). Claxton also claimed victory as a member of the 4x100m relay team, and placed second on the 4x400m relay team.
After conference championships, Claxton did not run another 400m hurdles race. Instead, she closed out the season with the open 400m. She won the event at ECAC Outdoor Championships, breaking her own school record in 53.07. Pariis Garcia once again placed second behind Claxton in 53.69. Claxton's season ended at NCAA East Prelims, where she placed 24th in the 400m in 53.98.
The 2016 season arrived with the expectation that Claxton would focus more of her attention on improving her 400m hurdles race. Because of her success with the Puerto Rican national team over the summer, and considering the 2016 Olympic Games were fast approaching, now was the time to attempt to qualify for the games in Rio. Claxton's best shot was with the 400m hurdles.
The first event Claxton ran was the 500m at Cornell's Upstate Challenge. Claxton's winning time of 1:13.80 ranks fourth all-time in program history. Her workload at meets consisted entirely of 200s and 400s, culminating in her second America East Indoor Championships, where she was the defending champion in the 400m. She successfully defended her title in the event, running 54.59. She also won the 200m dash in 24.36, and won as a member of the 4x400m relay.
Claxton's collegiate season ended at ECAC Indoor Championships, where she successfully defended her title in the 400m dash in a new school record 52.89. Her indoor season continued, however, with her second stint competing for Puerto Rico. This time, Claxton ran in an open event, the 400m dash, at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon. After qualifying for the semifinals in 10th place with a time of 53.97, Claxton ultimately placed 11th overall in 53.67.
A long indoor season slightly delayed Claxton's 2016 outdoor debut, which came at the Florida Relays with a return to the 400m hurdles. She placed fourth overall, breaking her own school record in 57.59. From this point on, Claxton would finish no lower than second in any of her races until ECAC Outdoor Championships.
As was the case the previous year, Claxton's hurdles saw a major breakthrough at the Penn Relays. She had run two additional hurdles races in the month since her school record effort at the Florida Relays, but had not come within a second of that time in either. That changed at the Penn Relays, where Claxton broke her own school record in 56.69 while becoming the first UAlbany's first ever Penn Relays champion, male or female. The following day, Claxton and her 4x100m relay teammates, Stephanie Osuji, Chanel Smith, and Taahira Butterfield, won the ECAC Championship Division with a new school record of 45.80.
With the America East Outdoor Championships looming just one week after the Penn Relays, and despite her success in the 400m hurdles, Claxton was still missing something. She had not yet run an open 400m during the outdoor season. That was alleviated at the University of North Florida Twilight Invitational. There, Claxton claimed victory in her original event, breaking her own school record in 52.81.
Claxton entered conference championships as the defending champion in both the 400m and 400m hurdles, but she would not repeat that double from the previous year. Instead, she would repeat her indoor championships double, the 400m and 200m dashes. Claxton once again won both events, first the 400m in 54.52, and next the 200m in a wind-aided 23.68, which ranks as the fastest time ever, wind-legal or otherwise, in UAlbany history.
From here on out, Claxton exclusively ran the 400m hurdles, except for her participation on the ECAC Outdoor Championships 4x100m relay which placed fourth. At the same meet, Claxton won the 400m hurdles in 57.58. She next returned to the NCAA East Preliminary Championships, placing fifth overall in a school record and personal best 55.90 to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Claxton placed ninth overall in 56.83, missing out on the national finals round by four one-hundredths of a second. Still, Claxton earned Second Team All-America honors for her efforts.
After two full seasons as a Great Dane, Claxton ranks first in the 400m, third in the 200m, and fourth in the 500m on the indoor all-time program list, and first in the 400m and 400m hurdles, and third in the 200m on the outdoor all-time program list. She also holds school records as a member of the indoor 4x400m and outdoor 4x100m relays.
Two years deep into her career at UAlbany and one additional summer of specific preparation, Claxton is now ready to compete in Rio. Her summer training has included a handful of appearances at Colonie High School's Tuesday night recreational meets, where on July 26 she finished her 800m run in 2:09.9, which is her best time by nearly five seconds. The first phase of her journey to Brazil began back home in Puerto Rico, where she met with the Puerto Rico track & field delegation on July 28, before arriving in Rio on August 3. Coach Vives will accompany her for part of her journey, overseeing the final stages of her training in the almost two-week wait before her race. Additionally, Claxton will be taking over the America East Conference's Snapchat account, chronicling her experience at the Olympic Games.
The opening ceremonies for the Rio Games are scheduled for Friday, August 5 at 7:30 p.m. Track & field events begin Friday, August 12. The first round of the women's 400m hurdles run on Monday, August 15 at 8:30 p.m. Closing ceremonies are Sunday, August 21 at 7:30 p.m. Coverage for the Olympic Games can be seen on the NBC family of networks, as well as online through nbcsports.com or nbcolympics.com. Alternatively, live results can be found at iaaf.org.
