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Pjai Austin
Personal information
Full namePjai Austin
NicknamePeezy
Nationality USA
BornSeptember 19, 2000 (2000-09-19) (age 24)[1]
Los Angeles, California
Home townLos Angeles, California
Education
Height177 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight74 kg (163 lb)[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 metres
60 metres
Long jump
College team
Turned pro2023
Coached bySheldon Hutchinson
Francesca Green
Mike Holloway
Achievements and titles
National finals
Personal best(s)100 m:
9.89 (+1.3) (2023)

60 m:
6.53 (2023)

Long jump:
8.01 m (2023)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Pan American U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 San José Long jump
Updated on January 15, 2024

Pjai Austin (born September 19, 2000), also known as PJ Austin, is an American sprinter. At the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he ran 9.89 for 100 metres in the semifinals and 9.97 in the finals, the former making him the 9th-fastest runner in the world that year.[4]

Career

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As a prep for Maricopa High School, Austin competed in basketball, gridiron football, and track and field. He won the CIF California State Meet in the 4 × 100 metres, and set a school record in the long jump.[3]

In fall 2018, he joined the Arizona Wildcats track and field team not as a sprinter, but as a jumper. He had a successful freshman season, jumping what was at one point the farthest jump of 2019 by any collegiate freshman.[5] At the 2019 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships, Austin won the silver medal in the long jump behind Wayne Pinnock. It was a close competition, as both athletes were measured at 7.82 m but Pinnock had the better next-best jump on countback.[6][7]

In 2020, Austin transferred to the Florida Gators track and field program, which he would compete at through 2023.[8][9] He qualified for his first collegiate nationals at the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 13th overall in the long jump.[10]

With a runner-up finish in the 4 × 100 m at the 2022 NCAA Championships, Austin began to specialize in sprinting in 2023.[1] He finished 3rd in the 60 metres at the 2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, better than his 7th-place finish in the long jump.[11]

Austin's biggest breakthrough came in the spring of 2023, at the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In the East Preliminary Round two weeks prior, he had run 9.88 seconds for 100 m, but with a 5.5 metres/second tailwind that greatly aided the result and made it ineligible for records.[12] At the championships in the first semi-final, Austin nearly repeated this performance with a 9.89 clocking, this time with a legal +1.3 m/s wind. Although he could not repeat this in the finals and only finished 5th, the mark was nonetheless a personal best by 0.2 seconds.[13][14] Austin competed in the 100 m at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and won his first-round heat, but he did not advance past the semi-finals.[15]

Personal life

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Austin is from Los Angeles, California where he attended Maricopa High School. He didn't want to compete in track initially, but he was convinced by his football coaches to try it his freshman year. On his first ever attempt at the long jump, he jumped over 20 feet (6.1 m).[5]

Statistics

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Personal best progression

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100m progression
# Mark Pl. Competition Venue Date Ref.
1 10.93 13th Nike Chandler Rotary Elite Chandler, AZ March 23, 2018 [16]
2 10.86 4th (Round B) Willie Williams Classic College Tucson, AZ March 15, 2019 [17]
3 10.66 4th (Round B) Jim Click Shootout Tucson, AZ April 5, 2019 [18]
4 10.52 2nd place, silver medalist(s) (Round B) Desert Heat Classic Tucson, AZ April 26, 2019 [19]
5 10.17 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) (Heat 4) Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays Austin, TX March 24, 2022 [20]
6 10.10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Pepsi Florida Relays Gainesville, FL March 31, 2023 [21]
7 10.09 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tom Jones Memorial Gainesville, FL April 14, 2023 [22]
8 9.89 1st place, gold medalist(s) (Semifinal 1) NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships Austin, TX June 6, 2023 [23]
Long Jump progression
# Mark Pl. Competition Venue Date Ref.
1 7.01 m 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nike Chandler Rotary Elite Chandler, AZ March 23, 2018 [16]
2 7.07 m 1st place, gold medalist(s) Valley Championships, Queen Creek HS Queen Creek, AZ April 19, 2018 [24]
3 7.37 m 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Larry Wieczorek Invitational Iowa City, IA January 18, 2019 [25]
4 7.39 m 1st place, gold medalist(s) NAU Tune Up Flagstaff, AZ February 14, 2019 [26]
5 7.82 m 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Pan American U20 Athletics Championships San José, Costa Rica July 18, 2019 [27]
6 7.95 m 5th SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships Fayetteville, AR February 25, 2021 [28]
7 8.01 m 7th NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships Albuquerque, NM March 9, 2023 [29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d PJ Austin at Tilastopaja (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b "Pjai Austin - Track and Field". Florida Gators. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Pjai Austin - Track and Field". University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  4. ^ "100 Metres - men - senior - all - 2023". worldathletics.org. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Star, Rob Kleifield For the Arizona Daily (April 26, 2019). "PJ Austin's big leap from high school to college has been thrilling, exciting". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "Track Cats Around the World". University of Arizona Athletics. June 28, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  7. ^ T&fn. "Pan-Am Junior Champs — U.S. Relays Run Rampant". Track & Field News. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "Gators add 12 Signees for 2020-21 Season". Florida Gators. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  9. ^ PJ Austin at TFRRS
  10. ^ "Bryant's Record-Setting Leap Highlights Day 2 at Nationals". Florida Gators. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  11. ^ "1standTenFlorida - Jasmine Moore Leads the Way with Two National Titles". florida.rivals.com. March 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  12. ^ Lindstrom, Sieg (June 8, 2023). "NCAA Regionals — American CR For Hamilton". Track & Field News. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  13. ^ Battaglia, Joe, Florida's PJ Austin Drops Huge PR 9.89 In 100m | 2023 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, retrieved February 12, 2024
  14. ^ Hollobaugh, Jeff. "NCAA Men's 100 — Lindsey Best Amid Record Depth". Track & Field News. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  15. ^ "USA Track & Field | Five Champions Crowned on Day One of 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships". usatf.org. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Athletics recap for meeting #12922043". Tilastopaja.
  17. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12923802". Tilastopaja.
  18. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12925401". Tilastopaja.
  19. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12927629". Tilastopaja.
  20. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #13005848". Tilastopaja.
  21. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #13032085". Tilastopaja.
  22. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #13033632". Tilastopaja.
  23. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #13042307". Tilastopaja.
  24. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12922128". Tilastopaja.
  25. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12916217". Tilastopaja.
  26. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12918174". Tilastopaja.
  27. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12933582". Tilastopaja.
  28. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #12976972". Tilastopaja.
  29. ^ "Athletics recap for meeting #13030171". Tilastopaja.
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