Leaping After Owens, Reese Makes History of Her Own in Berlin

The football team may be getting all the hype, but no matter what their record is this season, they won’t top Ole Miss senior Brittney Reese’s latest athletic feat – a world championship. MPB’s Cari Gervin has the story.

It might not be an Olympic gold medal, but it’s still a gold medal. And for Gulfport native Brittney Reese, winning the long jump competition at the Track and Field World Championships in Berlin last weekend means she’s no longer an underdog.

“I think most people felt like the veterans would have the edge there.”

University of Mississippi track coach Joe Walker:

“But I don’t think it was a total surprise. I think she went there with the idea she could win it. And you know, whether she could pull it off or not was yet to be seen, but that was her goal.”

Reese placed 8th in the 2007 world championships and 5th in last summer’s Olympics. On Sunday, her jump of 7.10 meters put her in first place for the first time since turning pro. At 22, she’s the third youngest long jumper to win. And she’s the first Ole Miss track star to ever bring home a gold medal.

Back in Oxford after just four hours of sleep, Reese is wearing a fluorescent yellow t-shirt and jeans that hang off her lanky frame. She says her victory still hasn’t sunk in.

“It was a real honor to just be there, because of Jesse Owens, and how he went there and competed and won it, and it was just remarkable for me to come out there and win.”

Berlin was the site of the 1936 Olympics, where African-American track star Owens won four gold medals, including the long jump, at the height of Nazi Germany.

And now that she’s conquered Berlin, Reese is ready to take on London.

“I’m happy, but I’m also ready to just – I want to medal in the Olympics also, since I now have a world championship medal.”

But for the next few months anyway, Reese will be more focused on her homework. She hopes to finish her undergraduate studies in psychology and English this semester and graduate in December.

For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin in Oxford.