Bougard Chases Medal In Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan – Mississippi State track and field alumna Erica Bougard carries many accolades with her. She is the most decorated student-athlete to ever compete in Starkville, but the one thing she doesn't have is an Olympic medal. She will look to change that when she makes her Olympic debut in Tokyo, Japan.

Born in Tennessee but raised in Byhalia, Mississippi, she has SEC, NCAA and USATF titles but came just short of medaling at the 2018 indoor and 2019 outdoor World Championships in the pentathlon and heptathlon. Now, she's eyeing a spot on the Olympic podium.

Winning in her Olympic debut is not unheard of. Reigning Olympic Champion Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) won gold in her debut in Rio in 2016. But Thiam also kept Bougard off the podium in Doha in 2019.

The Mississippi native made Team USA for the Tokyo Games after placing third at the USATF Olympic Trials in Oregon with a point total of 6,667. That meet included a personal-best mark in the javelin at 46.75m (797 pts).

If Bougard can replicate her Trials score in Tokyo, she will be in the hunt for a medal. Only twice in the history of global championships has a score of 6,600 not been enough for a medal: at the 1992 and 2016 Olympics. Her personal-best score is 58 pts higher than what she finished with in Oregon, at 6,725 pts, which ranks fourth in U.S. history.

Going into the Games, she is ranked fourth in the world behind competitors from Britain, Belgium and Austria. However, she has the No. 3 mark in the world this year behind her American teammates Annie Kunz and Kendell Williams.

The heptathlon has been contested at the Olympic Games since 1984. Only two Americans have ever medaled in the event.

World-record-holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee took silver with 6,385 pts in 1984, and she went on to win gold in both 1988, with her record mark of 7,291 pts, and in 1992, with a score of 7,044 pts, respectively. Hyleas Fountain was the last American to medal, earning silver with 6,649 pts in 2008. Bougard is seeking to bring home the United States' first medal in the heptathlon in more than a decade.

The heptathlon begins the night of Aug. 3 and will roll over into the early hours of the morning of Aug. 4 for those tuning in from the U.S. The second day of competition will do the same, starting on the night of Aug. 4 and spilling into the morning of Aug. 5.

The events of the heptathlon can be streamed on NBCOlympics.com or through the NBC Sports app. Nearly-live results are available on Olympics.com along with MSU's State to Tokyo webpage and social media feeds.

For more information on the Mississippi State track and field program, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateTF" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Bulldog Bios

Erica Bougard (United States)

Personal Best: 6,725 pts (May 27, 2018) | Season Best: 6,667 pts (June 27) | World Rankings: 4th World, 1st USA

Ranks 26th in world history and fourth in U.S. history in the heptathlon ... most-decorated athlete in MSU history with 16 All-American honors and holds five school records ... placed fourth in the heptathlon at the 2019 Outdoor World Championships ... finished fifth in the pentathlon at the 2018 Indoor World Championships ... two-time USATF heptathlon champion and two-time pentathlon champion ... 2017 USATF long jump champion ... 2013 NCAA pentathlon champion ... two-time SEC champion and three-time SEC Field Athlete of the Year ... 2015 Cliff Harper Trophy Winner ... first MSU woman ever named to The Bowerman watch list in 2015.

Olympic Heptathlon Schedule (all times CT)

Day 1 - Tuesday, Aug. 3 - Wednesday, Aug. 4

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
7:35 p.m.	Heptathlon 100m Hurdles	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com
8:35 p.m.	Heptathlon High Jump	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com
5:05 a.m. (8/4)	Heptathlon Shot Put	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com
6:30 a.m. (8/4)	Heptathlon 200m	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com

Day 2 - Wednesday, Aug. 4 - Thursday, Aug. 5

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
7:40 p.m.	Heptathlon Long Jump	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com
10:30 p.m.	Heptathlon Javelin	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com
7:20 a.m. (8/5)	Heptathlon 800m	Erica Bougard	USA	NBCOlympics.com

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Erica Bougard

Mississippi State University Athletics