WKU Track & Field: Finn, Smellie, Owusu-Antwi Add to Hilltopper Olympians
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Track & Field alumni Michelle Finn, Gavin Smellie and Martin Owusu-Antwi made their Olympic Track & Field rosters, making four former Hilltoppers set to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at the end of July and into August. Finn will compete for Ireland in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase while Owusu-Antwi was selected for Ghana’s 4×100-meter relay team. Smellie is likely to compete on Canada’s relay team as well.
Michelle Finn, Ireland
Finn is a four-time Sun Belt Champion having won the 2010 and 2012 3,000-meter Steeplechase, the 2011 outdoor 5,000-meter run and was a member of the 2010 Indoor Distance Medley Relay Champion team. She currently holds the program record steeplechase time at 10:14.09 from 2012.
The Ireland native made the NCAA East Regionals in 2011 and 2012 with her steeplechase time. In those same years, she was a 2011 and 2012 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member. Finn also ran Cross Country for the Hilltoppers and was a two-time All-Conference Sun Belt honoree.
This is Finn’s second go-around in the Olympics as she represented Ireland in the same event in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Gavin Smellie, Canada
Smellie is a seven-time Sun Belt event champion including the indoor 55-meter (2008), the indoor 200 (2009), the indoor 4×400-yard relay (2008), the outdoor 100 (2008 and 2009) and outdoor 200 (2008 and 2009). He made the SBC podium in the outdoor 100 in all four of his years on The Hill.
In 2008 and 2009, he was named the Male Sun Belt Outdoor Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet and was named the top male point scorer at the 2009 SBC Outdoor Championships. Smellie qualified for NCAA East Regionals in at least one event in each of his four years at WKU. In 2007 and 2009, he qualified for four events and in 2008 he took the total up to five events.
He earned All-American status in 2008 and 2009 after competing at the Indoor National Championships on the 4×400-meter relay team in 2008 and in the outdoor 200 and 4×400-meter relay team in 2008 and 2009. He also competed in the outdoor 4×400-meter relay in 2010.
Smellie is also a two-time Olympian, representing Canada in the 4×100-meter relay on both occasions. He was a part of the Canadian relay team that appeared to have won third place at the 2012 London Olympics before the squad was disqualified for a lane violation.
Martin Owusu-Antwi, Ghana
Owusu-Antwi is the most recent WKU graduate competing in the Olympics. He is training as a member of Ghana’s 4×100-meter relay team. He currently holds the program record for the men’s indoor 200 and was a member of the indoor 4×400-meter relay team that has the best time in program history as well.
On the outdoor side, Owusu-Antwi was a piece of the 4×400-meter relay teams that hold four of the top five times in program history. In 2019, he qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the 200, 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay.
The Ghana native competed for the Hilltoppers on the national level as well. He was a Second Team All-American in the indoor 4×400-meter relay in 2019 and competed at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays.
After graduation, Owusu-Antwi served as an assistant with WKU for the 2019-20 season.
