Reese breaks meet record to qualify for Rio Olympics

Mississippi Gulf Coast alum Brittney Reese qualified for her third Olympics on Saturday, leaping an eye-popping 23 feet, 11.75 inches (7.31 meters) to win the women's long jump at the U.S Olympic Trials.

Her fourth-round jump was the longest by anybody in the world in 12 years, tied for second best ever by an American and set a U.S. Olympic Trials record. The legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee had set that mark in 1988.

"I'm just honored," Reese said. "I've always looked up to her. She's a mentor to me, but just to have her in my corner and break records of hers, she told me I have a lot left in me. To break records that she's broken is just a testament to my training."

Her mentor was on hand to see it, too.

"There's more to come," Joyner-Kersee said. "She's a great athlete and a great person. I'm happy for her. She can pass me and go even further."

Reese put up the ninth-best jump of all time. Her performance came a day after she topped the field in qualifying, jumping 23 feet (7.01 meters) on her first attempt.

"I thought it was around 7.20-something," she said, "but I knew yesterday when I jumped 7 meters easily, I knew that today would be special, and I proved myself to be right."

Reese, a 2011 MGCCC Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, will try to become the first women to ever defend her gold medal in the long jump and only the second to win two golds. She won gold in London in 2012 and has won three outdoor and three indoor world championships.

Also qualifying for the U.S. team are Tianna Bartoletta, who jumped 23 feet, 0.5 inches on her first jump and took only one more attempt while also running a 100-meter heat, and Janay DeLoach, who won bronze in London. DeLoach jump 22-9 on her final jump to make the team.

The Olympic long jump competition will take place Aug. 16-17.