Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics in the men’s long jump.
Goodwin finished seventh in the Olympic Trials final Sunday after straining his hamstring in qualifying Saturday.
Jeffery Henderson won with a jump of 8.59 meters, the longest jump in the world this year. He will be joined by Jarrion Lawson and Marquis Dendy on the U.S. Olympic team.
Will Claye did finish in third at the event, but didn’t have the Olympic qualifying mark of 8.15 needed since May 1, 2015. His best jump was 8.14.
Claye jumped 8.38, 8.42 and 8.42 today, but all his jumps were wind-aided and thus not legal for Olympic standard purposes.
Goodwin was in line to become the second person to compete in the Olympics after playing in an NFL regular-season game, joining Herschel Walker, who was a 1992 U.S. Olympic bobsledder. All the other NFL Olympians, around 40, were Olympians before they played in the NFL, including Goodwin in 2012.
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Four other former and current NFL players have been in contention for the Rio Games. On the track, former return specialist Jeff Demps competed at the 2012 Olympics with the U.S. 4x100m relay. He was hoping to qualify for his second Olympics in the 100m, but failed to do so at Olympic Trails. Former Detriot Lions running back Jahvid Best is looking to qualify in the 100m for Saint Lucia.
In rugby, former 49ers running back Jarryd Hayne has stepped away from football hoping to represent Fiji at the Olympics. Patriots safety Nate Ebner is looking to make the U.S. Olympic rugby team.
Goodwin competed at the 2012 London Games, finishing 10th in the long jump, before making his NFL debut. Following the Olympics, he took nearly three years off from track and field to focus on his NFL career. In 2015, he returned to long jumping to make a push for the 2016 Olympic team.
Goodwin was considered a favorite to win gold in Rio. Going into U.S. Olympic Trials he had the two longest jumps in 2016, with a personal best of 27 feet, 8.67 inches earlier this year in France. That was eclipsed at Trails by multiple jumpers led by Henderson.
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