Former Star Set for World Championships

Track & Field  08/22/2007  Courtesy RaginCajuns.com

Former Cajuns track and field standout Lawrence Willis will compete in the World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan.

  Willis’ USAT&F Bio

 

Official Osaka Website  

Versus Sports Channel TV coverage 

 

OSAKA, Japan–Former Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns track and field standout Lawrence Willis is set to compete in the 2007 World Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan this weekend.  The event is second only to the Olympics for the most important competition in elite track and field. 

 

Willis started training last fall and qualified for the USATF National Championships.  He came into that event ranked seventh in the nation.  His second place finish at the USATF Nationals placed him on the USA World Team.  It was also a personal best jump of 16.97m.  Willis is ranked 37th in the world going into Osaka, and has the fourth longest US jump in 2007.

 

Willis, a 2005 UL graduate, competed in the triple jump and the long jump while at Louisiana-Lafayette from 2001 through 2005.  He is making a comeback after taking a year and a half off to work as an EMT for Acadian Ambulance and his current job as a sheriff’s deputy with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Department. 
 
His recent success has all been achieved in less than a year, while coaching himself and working full-time.  Willis has had limited competition opportunities, because of the cost of travel.
 
“You could put the Cajundome inside this one and the Cajundome will still look small,” Willis said of the Osaka track and field stadium.  “It is like 3 or 4 Cajundomes.”

 

Lawrence Willis’ competition schedule:
Saturday, August 25 — qualification jumps for the finals
Monday, August 27 — Finals