Marquis Dendy leaped into the limelight once again on Saturday.
The Middletown High graduate and longtime world-class competitor won the long jump at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Dendy soared 8.14 meters (26 feet, 8½ inches) on the first of his six jumps and was never surpassed. Runner-up Jarrion Wilson went 8.13 meters to come close.
“It’s a matter of staying focused,” Dendy told media afterward in a video posted by MileSplit.com. “Anything can happen with these jumps, and it really only takes one.”
The victory qualifies Dendy for the World Championships on Aug. 19-27 in Budapest. Dendy was the 2016 world indoor champion and earned bronze in 2018 and 2022 but hadn’t qualified for the world outdoor meet since 2017.
The 30-year-old two-time Olympian has a long record of success at the U.S. outdoor meet. This was his second title, the first coming in 2015. Dendy was second in 2017 and third in 2013 and 2018. He was second at the 2022 U.S. indoor meet.
Dendy was a seven-time NCAA champion in the long and triple jumps at the University of Florida and the 2015 winner of The Bowerman as the NCAA’s top track and field athlete.
He made the 2016 U.S. Olympic team but couldn’t compete in Brazil due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered at the trials. Dendy then qualified again in 2021 for the COVID-delayed 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo but did not advance to the finals.
Still coping with periodic knee and Achilles tendon injuries, Dendy said, “My best ability is my availability.” He has benefitted from platelet-rich plasma injections but was still “a little rusty” coming into the U.S. meet.
“I got the job done,” he said, “took care of business, won and now I get to move on to the world championships.”
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