(NEXSTAR) — Lakeland, FL native and Olympic athlete, Monae’ Nichols, is looking to medal in the women’s long jump finals today in Paris.
The 25-year-old track and field athlete will go for gold at 2 p.m. ET. She qualified for the finals on Tuesday with a distance of 6.64m behind competitors from Italy, Germany, and Nigeria.
On today’s What’s Hot in Paris, J.B. Biunno, of Nexstar’s WFLA, and Olympic champion Brooke Bennett discussed Nichols’ journey to Paris with her high school track coach, Sheryl Covington Thomas.
The show livestreams each weekday during the Olympics at approximately 11 a.m. ET. Watch today’s episode in the player above.
Monae’ Nichols celebrates during the women’s long jump final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) 
Monae’ Nichols, of the United States, competes during the women’s long jump qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 
Monae’ Nichols, of the United States, competes during the women’s long jump qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 
Monae’ Nichols, of the United States, makes an attempt in the women’s long jump during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 
Monae’ Nichols, of the United States, claps her hands while competing in the women’s long jump during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, March 3, 2024.. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) 
Monae’ Nichols, of the United States, reacts after winning the silver medal in the women’s long jump during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 
Monae’ Nichols, of the United States, reacts after winning the silver medal in the women’s long jump during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) 
Monae’ Nichols competes in the women’s long jump final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) 
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women’s long jump final with Jasmine Moore and Monae Nichols during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) 
Monae’ Nichols competes in the women’s long jump final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) 
Monae’ Nichols competes in the women’s long jump final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Biunno and Bennett also discussed 16-year-old Quincy Wilson, and the men’s 200m finals happening at 2:30 p.m. ET. today, where Floridians Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton will face fellow American Kenny Bednarek.
Wilson is in line to race for the Americans in the men’s 4×400 meter relay on Friday, which would make him the youngest male to compete for the U.S. track team. Wilson posted on his Instagram page a picture of himself with the reminder to “tune in at 5:05 a.m. Friday morning” (on the U.S. East Coast) for the men’s relay.
At the Olympic trials earlier this summer, Wilson broke the under-18 world record twice with times of 44.66 and 44.59 that put him in the final of the 400 meters. He finished sixth there and was later chosen as part of the U.S. relay pool for the Olympics.
The 200 meters is supposed to be the easy half of Noah Lyles’ historic Olympic sprint double. It didn’t look quite so easy in his semifinal Wednesday. Newly crowned the Fastest Man Alive after a close-as-can-be win in the 100 meters, Lyles was not even the fastest man in his semifinal.
He was good enough to make it into that event’s final, anyway. Lyles had not lost a 200 race in three full years. That streak was snapped at the Stade de France when Letsile Tebogo of Botswana beat him to the line by crossing in 19.96 seconds, 0.12 faster than runner-up Lyles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
