The Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation announced Thursday that V.I. National Track and Field Team member, Hasheem Halim, gained his second NCAA All-American Honors in the Triple Jump at the NCAA National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Halim is a senior at Virginia Tech University where he has had an outstanding career. He finished fourth in the NCAA triple jump with a leap of 16.49 (w) in 2012 and also fourth in 2011 with a 16.25. In 2011 he represented the Virgin Islands in the CAC Senior Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and the World University Games in Shenzen, China where he gained valuable experience in the international world of track and field. He will compete this coming weekend in the Bahamas Olympic Trials and then in the NACAC Under 23 Championships in Mexico in July.
Halim is one of three triple jumping brothers (Muhammad is an Olympic qualifier) whose family moved from the U.S. Virgin Islands to New York when he was two years old then to Georgia when he was 13.
“I focus on the technique much more… triple jump is mostly about technique, so if you have the right technique and you’re able to fire your muscles out at the right time, it trumps power any day.”
Hasheem Halim by the numbers:
2012 Outdoor: Earned All-ACC honors in the triple jump with a third place finish at the ACC Championship (53-1, 16.18m) … Also turned in a fifth place showing in the long jump at the ACC Meet (24-4.25, 7.42m) … Notched a mark of 51-3.5 (15.63m) in the triple jump at the NCAA East Prelims to place eighth and qualify for nationals … Won the triple jump at the NC A&T Aggie Classic (51-6.5, 15.71m) … Took fifth in the triple jump at the Florida Relays (51-10, 15.80m) … Won the long jump with a personal best leap of 24-5 (7.44m) and led off the then school record setting 4×100 meter relay (40.11) at the UCF Invitational.
2012 Indoor: Finished third in the triple jump at the NCAA Championship with a double PR and school record 53-6.5 (16.32m), earning first team All-America honors … Reset his own triple jump school record on four different occasions at three meets during the season … Set the triple jump school record for the second time during the season at the ACC Championship, earning runner-up honors (52-10.75, 16.12m) to become a four-time All-ACC triple jumper indoors … Initially reset his own school record in the triple jump at the Hokie Invitational with a winning leap of 52-8.75 (16.07m) … Placed seventh at the ACC Championship in the long jump (23-7.5, 7.20m) … Set a personal best in the long jump at the VT Invitational (23-11, 7.29m) … Named Academic All-ACC for the third time for indoor track & field.
