LSU track star Terrance Laird turns pro

Photo courtesy LSU Twitter.

LSU track and field sprinter Terrance Laird announced he has turned pro after signing a contract with Adidas.

Laird, who arrived at LSU in January of 2020, led the Tigers’ men’s team to a national title a week ago by scoring a team and meet high 20½ points at the NCAA championships after winning titles in the 100 meters (10.05 seconds) and 4×100 meter relay (38.48), while also placing second in the 200 meters with a time of 19.94.

Laird named the 2021 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year earlier this week. He completed the sprint triple at the SEC meet after winning the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4×100 meter relay.

He has the two fastest wind legal times of the year in the 200 meters, a 19.81 at the Texas Relays in late March and a 19.82 at the SEC Championships in mid-May. The 19.82 at SECs broke Justin Gatlin’s meet record. He also owns a wind-aided time of 19.82 seconds (+2.4 meters per second) that he clocked at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in late April.

He’s set to compete for his spot on the U.S. Olympic team June 25-27 at the Olympic Trials. He’ll run the first round of the 200 meters on Friday at 4:04 p.m. CT. The semifinals will be at 9:33 p.m. CT Saturday night, and then the finals are scheduled for 7:22 p.m. CT on Sunday (June 27). He will also be a candidate for the USA’s 4×100 meter relay team.

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