Savannah Sutherland, a hurdler from Borden, Sask., had two targets for the 2023 outside season: to realize a private finest and to achieve the NCAA ultimate within the 400m hurdles. On Saturday, on the 2023 NCAA Observe and Area Championships in Austin, Texas, the 19-year-old sprinter from the College of Michigan not solely reached the ultimate, but in addition surprised the sector by working a private better of 54.45 seconds, securing her first NCAA Championship.
The second Savannah Sutherland turned the 400-meter hurdle NCAA Champion#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/aiEKPfg4mA
— Michigan Observe & Area / Cross Nation (@UMichTrack) June 11, 2023
After the race, Sutherland revealed in an interview that she was capable of stay composed, as a result of she had nothing to lose, since all the eye was on pre-race favourites Masai Russell and Britton Wilson, each famend U.S. sprinters.
“I believe it actually helped calm me down a bit of bit,” she shared with reporters. “The main focus was on them, and I had nothing to lose. It helped me give it my all.”
Sutherland completed the race over two-tenths of a second forward of second-place Russell (Kentucky) and almost 1.5 seconds forward of pre-race favorite Wilson (Arkansas). Notably, Wilson had competed within the 400m simply 25 minutes earlier than the 400m hurdles race. Wilson completed seventh in 55.92 seconds.
Sutherland’s profitable time of 54.45 seconds will not be solely a one-second private finest but in addition units a brand new college document, a Canadian U23 document, and the 2023 world championship customary; it additionally stands as one of many top-10 400m hurdles instances on the earth this 12 months.
As a second-year pupil on the College of Michigan, Sutherland follows within the footsteps of Canadian 400m hurdles document holder Sage Watson from Medication Hat, Alta., the final Canadian to win an NCAA title within the occasion (Watson gained in 2017 with the College of Arizona). Watson has since represented Canada in two Olympic Video games and gained gold within the 400m hurdles on the 2019 Pan-Am Video games in Peru.
Get to know Savannah Sutherland, 400m indoor Canadian document holder
Sutherland’s profitable season continues, as she now has the chance to compete for a nationwide title on the 2023 Canadian Observe and Area Championships in Langley, B.C., in late July. There’s additionally the potential for representing Crew Canada on the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
