In the 400m semifinals yesterday, Bershawn "Batman" Jackson ran 49.52 to cross the line 5th in his semifinal. Top 4 made the final.
Jackson, who is now 34, and made every World Champs team since he was a 20 year old in 2003, was emotional after what he thought was the final race ever at a USATF national championships. He opened up in his post-race interview and talked about how much track and field had meant to him, how it had changed his life, and how he wanted to inspire others from tough upbringings. Jackson, who turned pro while in college at St. Augustine's, said he got to go to college thanks to track and field and was the first from his family to graduate from college.
Jackson talked about how people told him he was too short to run the hurdles, but he realized he wasn't. He was sad to not make the final saying, "It's been a great journey...It hurts. Today was sad."
Turns out it wasn't too sad for him, as Texas A&M's Robert Grant ended up being disqualified, opening up a spot for Jackson in the final.
Watch the interview below and we bet you root for Jackson in the finals on Sunday. If Jackson can win USAs on Sunday, he'll surpass Edwin Moses for the most wins of USATFs in the 400m hurdles.
https://youtu.be/p9s4vGAVk_8
If you're looking for someone to root for today- Let us nominate Bershawn Jackson
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Very cool ..!
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inspirational. He will be a great coach.
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can he turn it around and make the team?
I know nothing about the hurdles. -
Never knew anything about him, despite being in D2 around the same time he was. Great story, thanks LetsRun.com.
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Awesome. Didn't know much about Jackson other than that he was really damn good at an event I don't really follow. Great to hear him talk about his career. I'll be rooting for him to grab one more title today.
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it just bottles my mind that he ran a 49 and got run down like that in his heat, holy crap!
based on that, I say he's fvcked in the final but what do I know -
mustache ride wrote:
it just bottles my mind that he ran a 49 and got run down like that in his heat, holy crap!
based on that, I say he's fvcked in the final but what do I know
Are you sure your mind wasn't already bottled? -
Nice interview, I remember meeting Bershawn in '02 and he was a great kid, seems like the only thing that's changed is that he's matured. Hope he does well, US 400H is in total flux this year. Also, why didn't Rai Benjamin show up? I thought he had a real shot.
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Have a picture with him from the 2010 US Championships, he was very fan friendly. Will be pulling for him to make the team.
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Batman has had a great run. Not a fan of the rich getting richer. Rather see an under sponsored 'new guy' make the team.
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What did Grant get DQed for ? It looked on the instant replay he hooked the last two hurdles ,
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I'll be pulling for Batman.
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OMG the SAME THING happened to him LAST YEAR!!! DQed twice in two years for the same thing at the same meet (US Champs)!!!!1
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And........Batman takes dead last.
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He didn't look great in the semis and looked the same in the final. Lane one is no fun either. The sun has set and Father Time has claimed another into his fold.....God speed Batman.
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Devils Ale wrote:
He didn't look great in the semis and looked the same in the final. Lane one is no fun either. The sun has set and Father Time has claimed another into his fold.....God speed Batman.
Like the movie, Batman will return. -
kmaclam wrote:
Batman has had a great run. Not a fan of the rich getting richer. Rather see an under sponsored 'new guy' make the team.
I know a lot of folks get tired of seeing Jackson and Clement make finals. They also had some years where they would make the team and fail to make the WC final or get something like 4th - 8th place if they made the final.
They kept the younger guys completely honest for almost 15 years and as a result the 400IH ended up being one of the most amazing events in Track and Field.
Not one person was completely dominant.
47.30 in the WC Helsinki rain is flat out impressive. His last 200m in that race. Damnn
