TOKYO — Jim Thorpe did it. But for the last 109 years, no American man has competed in the Olympics in both the high jump and the long jump.
Now JuVaughn Harrison will match that Thorpian feat, and quite possibly win a medal or two.
Like a lot of great high school athletes, Harrison excelled at just about everything: He was a soccer midfielder and a 6-foot-5 small forward in basketball. In football he was a quarterback, receiver and kicker.
As for track, “I really just did what my school needed for points,” he said. That included high jump, long jump, and 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles.