Bougard Top American, Fourth Overall at World Championships
October 03, 2019 | Track & Field
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
DOHA, Qatar – Ninety points. A difference of 3.30 seconds in the 800m. That's all that kept former Mississippi State star Erica Bougard off the heptathlon podium at the IAAF World Championships on Thursday afternoon.
Bougard entered the final event in seventh place, as she and four others were separated by 77 points in the race for a bronze medal. Bougard easily passed them all by except for Austrian Verena Preiner, crossing the line in 2:09.74 to take third in the discipline.
Preiner held off Bougard over the final 200m to keep her hands on the bronze medal, and world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Great Britain ran a lifetime-best 2:07.26 to secure the gold.
Bougard struggled in the throws, but scored 900 points or more in each of the other five events. The Mississippi native finished among the top four athletes in four events.
The 16-time All-American was in fourth after the first day of competition, taking third place in both the 100m hurdles (13.01) and the high jump (1.86m, 6-1.25). She stumbled in the shot put, throwing just 12.36m (40-6.75), but rebounded with a run of 23.89 in the 200m to place fourth in that event.
She placed 12th in the javelin with a mark of 43.48m (142-8), and long jumped 6.21m (20-4.5) to take eighth in that event on Thursday.
Bougard was seeking to become the first American medalist in the heptathlon at the World Championships since 2008.
In her MSU career, Bougard set a program record for the most All-American honors by both men and women. She won the 2013 NCAA Championship in the indoor pentathlon and was a two-time SEC champion in the combined events.
She earned SEC Field Athlete of the Year honors three times along with the conference's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year award. She won the Cliff Harper Trophy as the highest point scorer at the 2015 SEC Indoor Championships where she earned 21.25 points towards the Bulldogs' team score.
For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
DOHA, Qatar – Ninety points. A difference of 3.30 seconds in the 800m. That's all that kept former Mississippi State star Erica Bougard off the heptathlon podium at the IAAF World Championships on Thursday afternoon.
Bougard entered the final event in seventh place, as she and four others were separated by 77 points in the race for a bronze medal. Bougard easily passed them all by except for Austrian Verena Preiner, crossing the line in 2:09.74 to take third in the discipline.
Preiner held off Bougard over the final 200m to keep her hands on the bronze medal, and world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Great Britain ran a lifetime-best 2:07.26 to secure the gold.
Bougard struggled in the throws, but scored 900 points or more in each of the other five events. The Mississippi native finished among the top four athletes in four events.
The 16-time All-American was in fourth after the first day of competition, taking third place in both the 100m hurdles (13.01) and the high jump (1.86m, 6-1.25). She stumbled in the shot put, throwing just 12.36m (40-6.75), but rebounded with a run of 23.89 in the 200m to place fourth in that event.
She placed 12th in the javelin with a mark of 43.48m (142-8), and long jumped 6.21m (20-4.5) to take eighth in that event on Thursday.
Bougard was seeking to become the first American medalist in the heptathlon at the World Championships since 2008.
In her MSU career, Bougard set a program record for the most All-American honors by both men and women. She won the 2013 NCAA Championship in the indoor pentathlon and was a two-time SEC champion in the combined events.
She earned SEC Field Athlete of the Year honors three times along with the conference's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year award. She won the Cliff Harper Trophy as the highest point scorer at the 2015 SEC Indoor Championships where she earned 21.25 points towards the Bulldogs' team score.
For more information on the Mississippi State track and field team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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