SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Former Hampton University standout and NCAA champion Francena McCorory added another notch to her resume this past weekend, winning the women’s 400-meter dash at the USA Outdoor Championships.
McCorory, who set a new meet record, ran a personal-best 49.48 in the final on Saturday, besting U.S. record holder Sanya Richards-Ross by .18 seconds. McCorory led at the 300-meter mark, then held off Richards-Ross down the stretch.
The roles were reversed in the semifinals, with Richards-Ross posting a fast time of 50.03 and McCorory putting up a 50.05.
"I ran my lights out today,” McCorory told USATF.tv. “It was also great running against a great field and you know the times will be good. It is more motivation. Starting out strong was my main focus today."
Television commentators called McCorory’s time the fastest in the world this year, and USA Track & Field’s website boasted that McCorory is now one of the five fastest Americans of all time.
McCorory was a three-time NCAA champion at Hampton, and in 2012, she won Olympic gold in London as part of Team USA’s 4x400-meter relay team. Earlier this year, she won the USA indoor title in the 400-meter dash with an American-record 50.54.
She then won the world indoor title with a 51.12.
In addition, the recently-graduated Je’Von Hutchison competed in the men’s 400-meter dash this past weekend, advancing to the semifinal round. He ran a 46.25 in Friday’s semifinal heats to post the 14th-fastest time.
That came after Thursday’s preliminaries, where Hutchison ran a 46.21 to come in fourth in his heat and advance.