Former Bulldogs Vied For Spot in Olympics

7/10/08
Former Marianna Bulldog basketball and track standout Brandon Roulhac has been making his hometown awfully proud of him. Roulhac earned a spot in the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon and in doing so competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Triple Jump Team. The team will be competing in this year’s upcoming Summer Olympics to be held in Beijing, China.
On Friday night Roulhac competed in the preliminary rounds which consisted of two flights with 12 jumpers in each flight. Roulhac pulled off a jump 16.54 meters (54 feet 3 ¼ inches), which was good enough to place him in the 5th spot out of the 24 jumpers. The top 12 jumpers advanced to the Finals which were held Sunday evening. The top three finishers in Sunday’s finals would make the Olympic Triple Jump Team. Roulhac jumped well enough (17.16 meters or 56 feet 3 ¾ inches) on Sunday to place himself in third place going into the final round of jumps. Unfortunately two other jumpers passed him and Roulhac finished 5th. While 5th place didn’t get him a spot on the Olympics, knowing that you are the 5th best triple jumper in the nation is not bad either.
Roulhac graduated from Marianna High School in 2002 after capturing a state championship in the triple jump with a jump of 47 and 7 inches. He attended Albany State University on a basketball and track scholarship. At Albany State he won conference titles in the decathlon and the 2005 NCAA Division II championship in the triple jump. He also earned All-American honors in the long jump. Roulhac currently works and trains in Tallahassee and is recently married. He is the son of Yvonne Horne.