July 2 was the last day Jasmine Todd would wear her Oregon singlet.
“I asked Coach Johnson if I was able to wear it, and he allowed me to wear the uniform one last time,” Todd said to reporters on Saturday. “So I kind of ended in the right way.”
Todd was a five-time All-American at Oregon and became yet another Duck sprinter who found success on the national stage. At the 2015 U.S. Outdoor Championships, she finished third in the 100 and fourth in the long jump with a school-record leap of 22-5 ¼.
But her career at Oregon came to a sudden halt when she was not able to compete in the NCAA Championships in June due to academic ineligibility. Though Todd technically has one year left of eligibility to compete collegiately — due to the fact that she missed most of her freshman season because of an injury — she most likely will not be returning to Oregon.
Just like her junior season, Todd’s push for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics also came to a sudden halt. On Sunday, during the third day of the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, Todd failed to qualify for the finals in the women’s 100-meter. She placed last in her heat, and second to last overall with a time of 11.30 seconds.
“It hasn’t been my year this year,” said Todd. “But, how many people can say that it hasn’t been their year, but they made it to the Olympic trials? You can’t be too mad at that.”
The day before, she competed in both the final of the long jump and the first round of the women’s 100 meter dash, one right after the other. She had just finished her final jump when she was rushed to the starting line.
“I wish they didn’t put the long jump and the 100 in the same session, because it’s a lot on the body,” Todd said. “I didn’t really have 24 hours to recover, either.”
This isn’t the first time that Todd has competed in both events in the same day. During the 2015 Pac 12 Track and Field Championships, Todd competed in both events, finishing in first in the 100 with a time of 11.18 seconds and second in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet, 8.5 inches.
“I was definitely in a lot better shape than I am this year,” said Todd.
Saturday yielded much different results. Todd finished last in the long jump with a distance of 19-9¾, missing the Olympic team by a wide margin. Todd was about three feet away from the third place finisher (DeLoach jumped 22-9).
During the preliminary round on Friday, Todd jumped 21-2 ¾ and placed 12th out of 25 competitors to earn the final semifinal spot. Though it was a much further jump that her best semifinal mark, she would have only improved to 9th place had she jumped the same distance on Saturday.
As for the 100m, she was the last person that qualified to the second round. She had a time of 11.26, finishing fourth in her heat behind Tori Bowie, Barbara Pierre, and Kimberlyn Duncan.
With her collegiate career likely over, Todd will have to chart a new course, away from the school where she found so much success.
“My body just feels a little burnt out,” said Todd on Sunday. “I’ll be back next year, better than ever.”