Orlando, Fla. – JuVaughn Harrison became LSU’s third winner of The Bowerman on Friday night at the Grande Lakes Resort. The Bowerman is annually awarded to the best male and female collegiate track athlete each December at the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Convention.
Harrison won the award over Oregon’s Cole Hocker and Arizona State’s Turner Washington. Harrison is LSU’s first male athlete to win The Bowerman and he joins fellow LSU athletes Sha’Carri Richardson (2019) and Kimberlyn Duncan (2012) in storied company. LSU’s three winners of The Bowerman, which began being awarded in 2009, are the second most of any collegiate program.
“I wouldn’t be where I would be without my support group,” Harrison said in his reception speech. “I want to thank my teammates, my coaches, the trainers, everyone who played a part in my season. Couldn’t have done it without them.
“I want to thank my mom and brother the most, though. They are my world. I am who I am because of them. They are my motivation and keep me going. Love you, mom and Ky’mani.”
Harrison had the greatest jumping season in collegiate history without a doubt. He did things that, quite literally, had never been seen before. He won four NCAA titles, three SEC titles, went 14-2 in competitions, and set four LSU school records.
His four NCAA titles during the 2021 season came in the unprecedented long jump/high jump double. And he didn’t only pull off that double at the collegiate level either. Although the voting process for The Bowerman only takes into account what happened during the collegiate season, Harrison also pulled off wins in the long jump/high jump double at the U.S. Olympic Trials against professionals to earn a berth to the Tokyo Olympics.
The native of Huntsville, Alabama, turned pro shortly after his performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and he became the first man since Jim Thorpe in 1912 to represent Team USA in the high jump and long jump at the Olympics.
He won pretty much every award that existed this year as he claimed National Field Athlete of the Year and SEC Field Athlete of the Year honors indoors and outdoors. He won when it mattered most and only suffered two defeats all season long.
He scored 20 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships and another 20 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the LSU men’s squad captured it’s fifth outdoor national title in program history in June.
2021 Accomplishments – JuVaughn History
2020 Tokyo Olympian (5th long jump, 7th high jump)
4x NCAA Champion, 3x SEC Champion, 2x U.S. Champion
2021 US Champion – Outdoor Long Jump – 8.47m (27’ 9.50”)
2021 US Champion – Outdoor High Jump – 2.33m (7’ 7.75”)
2021 NCAA Champion – Outdoor High Jump – 2.33m (7’ 7.75”)
2021 NCAA Champion – Outdoor Long Jump – 8.27m (27’ 1.75”)
2021 NCAA Champion – Indoor High Jump – 2.30m (7′ 6.50″)
2021 NCAA Champion – Indoor Long Jump – 8.45m (27′ 8.75″)
2021 Finalist for The Bowerman
2021 SEC Champion – Outdoor High Jump – 2.36m (7’ 8.75”)
2021 SEC Champion – Indoor High Jump – 2.20m (7′ 2.50″)
2021 SEC Champion – Indoor Long Jump – 8.33m (27′ 8.75″)
2021 USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year (indoors & outdoors)
2021 SEC Field Athlete of the Year (indoors & outdoors)
Top 10 LSU Marks
No. 1 – High Jump (indoors) – 2.30 meters (7-6.50)
No. 1 – Long Jump (indoors) – 8.45 meters (27-8.75)
No. 1 – High Jump (outdoors) – 2.36 meters (7-8.75)
No. 1 – Long Jump (outdoors) – 8.47 meters (27-9.50)
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