Gophers sprinter Devin Augustine qualifies for Paris Olympics with Trinidad & Tobago

Big Ten champion and Gophers record-setting sprinter Devin Augustine will represent Trinidad & Tobago in the Paris Olympics in the 100-meter dash.

A junior for the Gophers, Augustine became the 56th member of the Olympic team for his native country after his 100 time from last month qualified him based on the world ranking system.

Augustine is the first Gophers track athlete to qualify for the Olympics individually since Ben Blankenship with Team USA in the 1,500 meters in 2016. He’s also the first Gophers sprinter Olympian since 2000.

“His confidence level is super high,” Gophers sprint coach Ibrahim Kabia said. “He had very high expectations for his level of performance this year. He’s had a lot of success this year.”

Last month, Augustine repeated as the 100-meter champion for Trinidad & Tobago by defeating former Gophers sprinter teammate Kion Benjamin in the final with a time of 10.21 seconds. Augustine’s school-record time of 10.02 seconds earlier this season eclipsed Benjamin’s top program mark from the previous year.

Through last weekend, the Gophers had Augustine and Big Ten champion Matt Wilkinson (3,000-meter steeplechase) as their two athletes headed to Paris with Olympic berths.

After earning top male track athlete honors at the Big Ten championships, Augustine suffered disappointment, falling 0.01 seconds short of the 100-meter qualifying mark for the NCAA championships in Oregon last month. But he bounced back to qualify in the 200 meters and earn All-America honors.