Knott closing in on Olympic berth, but Cray still far off standard

Sprinter Kristina Knott has been making great strides nearly a month after opening her Olympic qualification bid.

The Southeast Asian (SEA) Games’ record-holder in the women’s 200m moved closer to her desired output on Sunday after placing third with a clocking of 23.17 seconds in the LSU Alumni Gold at Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Knott has likewise seen progress in the women’s 100m following an 11.28-second performance despite finishing fifth behind podium finishers Aleia Hobbs (10.91), Tamara Clark (10.96) and Mikiah Brisco (11.02).

Although it was still off the Olympic qualifying mark of 11.15 seconds, the Filipino-American saw a marked improvement following her 11.54 performance in the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, almost four weeks ago.

Knott is chasing 22.80 seconds to secure an Olympic spot in the 200m and she’s just a split second away from punching that ticket to Tokyo.

Knott is set to pack her things for the 10th Savona International Meeting in Savona, Italy, on May 17 where she’s looking to achieve her targets in both events.

Meanwhile, hurdler Eric Cray had his share of progress after clocking 51.20 seconds in the men’s 400-m hurdles of the 2021 Drake Relays also Sunday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Despite winding up last among eight competitors, the SEA Games record-holder in the event bettered his previous run last week of 51.62 seconds in the Michael Johnson Invitational at Clyde Hart Stadium in Waco, Texas.

Cray needs to clock 48.90 seconds to make it. INQ