Infinite Tucker is a great name for a hurdler -- or actually for anyone -- but perhaps Texas A&M's newest SEC champion should consider taking up swimming instead. In a stunning showing on Saturday at the 2019 SEC Track & Field Championships, Tucker so desired to win the 400-meter hurdles that he literally threw his body at the finish line.
Not only did that last-second decision work as Tucker won the race by one-tenth of a second, he actually beat his own teammate, Robert Grant, for the SEC title.
"Look. I closed my eyes over hurdle 10. I opened it, saw my ma at the finish, and I jumped to give her a hug," Tucker told ESPN. "That's all it is."
Take a look.
Infinite Tucker for the @SEC 🥇!
— Texas A&M Track and Field (@aggietrk) May 12, 2019
Aggies go 1️⃣-2️⃣ in the 400 hurdles
📺 https://t.co/GKa0NNH8wG #SECTF #GigEm pic.twitter.com/GaVkuCF4KX
Grant had a different take on the move.
"If I say what I thought on this camera, microphone right now, Coach [Pat] Henry would kick me off the team," Grant told ESPN with a smirk on his face.
Tucker and Grant finished 1-2 in the race with Tucker taking home his first SEC title by a slim margin 49.38 seconds to 49.47 seconds. Tucker, a junior, placed second in this event last year and eighth in the same discipline at the NCAA Championships.