Eric Edwards Jr.

Eric Edwards Jr. (born 3 January 2000) is an American hurdler specializing in the 110 metres hurdles. He was the only athlete in Pan American U20 Championships history to win twice in the 110 m hurdles, at the 2017 and 2019 editions. At the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Edwards finished 2nd in a time of 13.15 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in American collegiate history.

Biography
Edwards is from Houston, Texas, where he attended Langham Creek High School. As a prep, he won the 2017 Texas UIL 6A state championships in the 110 m hurdles. Later that season at the 2017 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships, Edwards won his first international gold medal in the same event.

In October 2017, Edwards committed to the Oregon Ducks track and field program, which he represented for one year. At Oregon, he qualified for the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships finals but was disqualified for running around one of the hurdles.

In July 2019, he transferred to the LSU Tigers track and field program for the remainder of his collegiate career. As he was still under 20 years old, he went on to compete at his second Pan American U20 Championships in San José, Costa Rica later that year, where he won the gold medal again despite healing from a sprained ankle. In doing so, he became the first athlete in meeting history to win twice in the 110 m hurdles.

Edwards qualified for the 2021 United States Olympic trials, but he stopped prior to reaching the second hurdle and did not advance to the finals. At LSU, Edwards competed at a further three NCAA championships, with a best finish of 2nd at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in a personal best of 13.15 seconds. The performance was described as "the race of his life" as it made him the fifth fastest performer in American collegiate history, and the fourth fastest in the world that year. Edwards went on to make the finals of the 2022 and 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He came closest to making the U.S. team with his fourth-place finish in 2023, just outside the top three needed to qualify for the 2023 World Athletics Championships.