Track Alums to Compete at World Indoor Championships
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Four University of Miami track and field alumni will compete at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England.
Former NCAA champions Shakima Wimbley and Murielle Ahoure, NCAA runner-up Alysha Newman and All-American Kelsey Balkwill will represent their countries at the biennial meet that features the best indoor track and field athletes in the world.
Ahoure, who will represent her native Ivory Coast, will be the first athlete in action, competing in the women’s 60m heats beginning at 5:35 a.m. ET on Thursday. The standout sprinter has raced in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, making the final in both the 100m and 200m at the 2012 Games in London. Ahoure has had plenty of success on the international stage, winning silver medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow. At Miami, Ahoure was the 2009 NCAA indoor 200m champion and earned two First Team All-America honors while ranking second in school history in the indoor 200m and third in the outdoor 200m. A year ago, she finished fourth in the 100m final at the IAAF World Championships in London.
Wimbley will be the next Cane on the track, running in the women’s 400m heats at 7:10 a.m. ET on Thursday. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native will represent the United States in the 400m and be part of the women’s 4x400m relay pool. A year ago, Wimbley won a gold medal as part of the United States’ 4x400m relay team at the IAAF World Championships. The 2017 NCAA indoor champion in the women’s 400m, Wimbley finished fifth in the women’s 400m final at the 2017 USA Championships to earn her spot on Team USA. One of the best Hurricanes’ sprinters ever, Wimbley rewrote the record books at Miami and in the ACC. The superstar closed her ACC career with eight 200m titles, seven 400m titles, three 4x100m titles and five 4x400m titles. She also has six school records, four ACC records and six ACC Championship records while leading Miami to back-to-back ACC indoor championships. In addition to her indoor national title, she was the NCAA runner-up in the outdoor 400m in 2017 and earned eight First Team All-America honors as a Hurricane. The women’s 4x400m relay heats are set for Friday at 8:05 a.m., with finals scheduled for Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
Balkwill will also run in the women’s 400m heats at 7:10 a.m. ET on Thursday, competing for her native Canada. A 2015 graduate from the University of Miami, Balkwill reached the final in both the 400m and the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Canadian Olympic Trials. At Miami, Balkwill was a first team All-American in the 4x400m relay, helping the Hurricanes finish fifth in the event at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Balkwill was also a second team All-American in the 400m hurdles that year and a second team All-American in the indoor 4x400m relay. She helped the Canes win a gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the 2014 ACC Indoor Championships and was a second team All-ACC selection in the indoor 400m and 400m hurdles in 2015.
Newman will represent Canada in the pole vault, beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Friday. The pole vaulter was the NCAA runner-up in 2016 after finishing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier that same year. She continued her success that year by representing Canada in the Olympics, where she finished 17th overall. Newman was the 2016 ACC outdoor champion in the women’s pole vault and finished second in the same event at the 2016 ACC Indoor Championships. A four-time First Team All-American, Newman holds the women’s indoor and outdoor pole vault records at Miami. A year ago, Newman finished seventh in the women’s pole vault at the IAAF World Championships.
The IAAF World Championships will be held at Arena Birmingham, a multi-purpose venue that has hosted more world championships than any other arena in Europe, and more than 30 different sports events in its history, including multiple global events such as the Indoor Grand Prix and the IAAF World Indoor Championships 2003. All of the meet action can be followed via live results by clicking here.
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @MiamiHurricanes, or “Like Us” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes. Follow @CanesTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram.
