Clemson’s Crawford Breaks American Record In 200M

March 10, 2000

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a photo finish, Clemson senior Shawn Crawford broke the American record and won the national championship in the 200m on Friday night at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

In a tight race with John Capel of Florida, Crawford finished the race in 20.252, followed by Capel in 20.257, to win the second national championship of his career. Crawford won the event two years ago as a sophomore. The time broke the American record of 20.32 held by Rohsaan Griffin and Kevin Little.

In the preliminaries of the event, Crawford recorded a time of 20.33, breaking the previous collegiate record of 20.36 set by UTEP’s Obadele Thompmson in 1996.

“I felt good about the start,” said Crawford following the win. “I’m just happy I won. He (Capel) came up on me at the end. I felt like I had won, even though it took a while for the announcement. It feels fabulous to go out with a win.”

Following the first day of competition, the Tigers have scored 11 points. Tiger junior Sultan Tucker placed eighth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.97 to earn All-American honors.

“I hit the third hurdle with my knee leg, and that messed me up for the remainder of the race,” said Tucker. “This is the national championships, and everyone has the same abilities. I made a mistake and it cost me. I have to keep doing what I’ve been doing and stay focused for outdoors.”

In other preliminary action, Crawford qualified for Saturday’s finals in the 60m, winning his heat in 6.66. Freshman David Collins placed 18th in the event with a time of 6.82. In the 400m, sophomore Ato Modibo failed to advance to the finals after placing 15th with a time of 47.33. After a bad start, Modibo was unable to recover in his race.

Saturday’s action begins at 8:15 pm ET, when Crawford competes in the finals of the 60m. The Tiger 4x400m relay will run at 9:10 p.m. ET on Saturday to conclude the meet.