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August 20, 2004 9:14 pm

Harris eliminated in high jump

By Elliott Denman

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece — As a dozen of the world’s top high jumpers were rising to the occasion Friday night at Olympic Stadium, Tora Harris was enduring one of his least successful meets in years.

The 25-year-old Harris, a Princeton graduate and twice a member of U.S. World Championships teams, cleared just 7 feet and a half-inch, then missed three times at 7-2 1/2 to be eliminated from a spot in Sunday’s final.

Harris was an NCAA champion in his senior year at Princeton with a record-setting jump of 7-7, but he was nowhere close to that form Friday.

Two of his teammates advanced. National champion and Olympic trials winner Jamie Nieto had no misses at 7-5 3/4 and moved up easily. Matt Hemingway had a much tougher time but cleared 7-5 3/4 on his third and final attempt to move on.

"I can’t look at it as a bad day," Harris said. "But I can look at it as a good day of learning.’’

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