GAINESVILLE, Fla. — One of the best comeback stories for the U.S. Olympic Team headed to Tokyo belongs to former Gators All-American MarquisDendy.
Most expected Dendy's shot at Olympic glory to happen at the Rio Games in 2016. Dendy earned a spot on Team USA in the long jump and was considered one of the favorites. However, only days before the Games were to start, Dendy suffered a lower-leg injury that prevented him from competing.
Five years later -- the global coronavirus pandemic extended Dendy's wait for a year -- the 28-year-old Dendy refused to be denied. Dendy finished second in the long jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month to secure his spot in Tokyo in the long jump.
Dendy is no stranger to international success. He was the the 2015 U.S. outdoor national champion and 2016 U.S. and world indoor gold medalist, and no male athlete has won more titles in the horizontal jumps at the NCAA Championships since the turn of the millennium than Dendy.
Now, after a long wait and the accumulation of years on his tall and lean frame, Dendy finally gets a chance at the Olympics.
AT A GLANCE
SPORT: Track & Field
EVENT: Men's long jump
HOW HE QUALIFIED: Dendy earned a spot on Team USA by finishing second in the long jump with a season-best leap of 8.38 meters (27 feet, 6 inches) in his second attempt at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month.
TOKYO SCHEDULE: The qualifying round for the men's long jump starts July 31 and the final is Aug. 2 at the Olympic Stadium.
UF CAREER: Dendy arrived at UF from Middletown, Del., and not only continued the Gators' excellence in jumps on the heels of such standouts at Christian Taylor, Will Claye and Omar Craddock, but he stamped his own star on the program's record books. Dendy won seven national titles in the long jump and triple jump (outdoor and indoor) during his career and was named the 2015 Bowerman winner, the top individual honor in NCAA Track & Field.
NEED TO KNOW: Dendy's 8.38-meter jump at the Olympic Trials last month was his longest in the event outdoors since the 2016 Olympic Trials, when he posted a jump of 8.42 meters, which pegged him as a favorite in Rio until his injury.
QUOTE OF NOTE: "I'm 28. I want to get a meet overseas. I got a new house, so I want to fill it up with some furniture. I'll wake up and realize I'm actually going to Tokyo, the village. It feels really good." -- Dendy after his performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month
Previously: "Gators In Olympic Games" Series
June 26: Cory McGee
June 27: Michelle Moultrie
June 28: Natalie Hinds
June 29: Adriana Leon
June 30: Enzo Martinez-Scarpe
July 1: Kieran Smith
July 2: Genevieve LaCaze Gregson
July 3: Will Claye
July 4: Mark Kolozsvary
July 5: Marife Torres
July 6: Aubree Munro
July 7: Leanne Wong
July 8: Hakim Sani Brown
July 9: Deanne Rose
July 10: Yanis David
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July 11, 2021 at 08:04PM
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Gators In Olympic Games: Marquis Dendy - Florida Gators
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