USATF flashback: Tori Franklin snaps triple jump rival Keturah Orji’s win streak at the 2020 championships

Franklin snaps triple jump rival Orji’s win streak at the 2020 championships

The 115th edition of what’s now called the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships comes to Spokane’s new Podium facility Saturday and Sunday. This week, we’ll make take a brief tour through the storied event’s history.

A Globetrotters-Generals analogy would be a stretch, but it is true that Keturah Orji had never lost to triple jump rival Tori Franklin in 12 meetings when the 2020 championships opened in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And it looked as if 13-0 was in the offing when the Georgia grad popped an American record of 47 feet, 10¾ inches on her second jump, and saw it hold up through five rounds.

Franklin got within 5½ inches on her fourth attempt, but saved the shocker for the end – jumping 48-½ on her sixth try to claim the record herself. Orji could only reach 47-3 on her final attempt.

A Michigan State alum, Franklin had also taken the American record outdoors from Orji in 2018, though Orji got it back last year with a leap of 48-11½.

“We bring out the best in each other,” said Orji, who hooks up with Franklin again on Sunday in The Podium.