Omar Craddock

Raised in Killeen, Texas, he attended Killeen High School and enjoyed basketball, American football and baseball. He began to achieve good marks in the triple jump in 2008 – his best that year was 15.53 m, which brought him second at the AAU Junior Olympic Games. He was also the state champion in the event in 2008.

The 2011 collegiate season began with school-best performances : at the SEC Indoor Championships the Florida Gators swept the men's triple jump through Christian Taylor, Will Claye and Craddock. The three produced the best jump's in the school's history and Craddock was third with a best of 16.57 m (54 ft 4 ⁄4 in). He came fifth at the NCAA Indoors and won his first outdoor meet at the Penn Relays, but missed the rest of the outdoor season. In his third year with the Gators he reached new highs as his teammates Taylor and Claye finished their studies. He won both the SEC Indoor and NCAA Indoor Championship titles, setting a new personal record of 16.75 m (54 ft 11 ⁄4 in) at the latter event. An outdoor best of 16.71 m (54 ft 9 ⁄4 in) followed and he secured both the SEC and NCAA Outdoor titles too – following in the footsteps of Taylor's 2010 feat. He placed fourth at the 2012 Olympic Trials, where his former Gator teammates took the top spots.