Flo Knows Winning Triple Jump Titles

Edrick Floréal was known as a big-meet performer and it showed in his final competition for Arkansas in the 1990 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 

Floréal was aiming to be the meet’s first athlete to win three consecutive triple jump titles, but in round five he got a wakeup call – Festus Igbinoghene of Mississippi State came within 1 cm (less than half an inch) of the lead. 

That was too close for comfort for Floréal, who had won his previous four NCAA titles (two outdoor, two indoor) by more than a foot. Floréal responded with a two-foot improvement and recorded the year’s best collegiate jump at 17.23m (56-6½). 

“I’m pleased with my jump,” Floréal said afterward. “I’m a little disappointed because of losing the team title.” Arkansas, one of the pre-meet favorites, finished second.

It was the second time Floréal (pronounced “flo-ree-AL”) contributed 18 points for the Razorbacks in a national championship (He also finished runner-up in the long jump). The first time came indoors in 1989 when he accounted for more than half of the team points as Arkansas won its closest team battle in all of its 30 track & field national titles. 

At the 1989 NCAA Indoor Championships, Floréal was in the midst of the triple jump as Joe Falcon – favored for a third-straight 3000-meter title – uncharacteristically began to falter. 

“When I watched Joe in the 3000, I panicked,” Floréal told Dick Denny of the Indianapolis News. “I knew I had to win the triple jump. When I have pressure on my back, I usually perform well.” 

Sure enough, Floréal – who was second earlier in the long jump with a PR 7.98m (26-2¼) – added a then-PR 17.14m (56-2¾) to win his first indoor title and seal the team crown. 

Floréal was inducted to the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame in 2019 and still owns Canadian records outdoors and indoors in the triple jump, as well as the outdoor long jump. 

After retiring as an athlete, Floréal became one of the nation’s most prominent coaches. He currently leads the Texas programs after successful stints at Kentucky and Stanford.