Hodge And Georgia Teammates Poised To Win NCAA Team Title On Saturday

By Lori Shontz Special to DyeStat

Ken Webber Photo

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

EUGENE -- Georgia freshman Adaejah Hodge won the first semifinal of the women’s 100 meters Thursday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and she just kept running, right down the tunnel to exit Hayward Field.

She’d qualified for Saturday’s final and didn’t need to concern herself with anything else. She didn’t even bother to look at her time.

So she had no idea that she’d shattered Sha’Carri Richardson’s NCAA record until she got halfway through the tunnel.

“They ran me down – ‘Hey, hey, hey, you broke the collegiate record. You have to get your spikes checked,’” Hodge said, laughing. I was like, ‘Oh. OK.’”

Her time was 10.63, substantially faster than Richardson’s 10.75 from 2019. Hodge became the fifth-fastest woman in history, behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

Told where she now ranks, Hodge beamed and said, “My goodness. Wow.”

Then she clarified: “In history? Like, all the people that ran?”

Told that was correct, she scratched her head and said, “Hey, God did it, man.”

Hodge also had some help from her coach, Caryl Smith-Gilbert, whom Hodge called her “second mom” for the way she had supported her for the past two years.

“She’s been with me through the mud,” Hodge said. “I love that lady with all my heart.”

Hodge tested positive for metabolites of GW5051516 in August 2024 at the World U20 Championships, where she was representing the British Virgin Islands. The Athletics Integrity Unit didn’t announce her two-year suspension until March 2026, just a few days after Hodge had led Georgia to the NCAA indoor title with a second-place finish in the 60 meters and a victory in the 200.

The AIU said that Hodge had not taken the banned substance intentionally and reduced her suspension by seven months because she had assisted with the investigation. Hodge said no one had explained to her why her suspension was not announced; she said she hadn’t even told her federation.

“I know the truth behind it,” Hodge said. “A lot of people may say what they want to say, but those are just haters. Life goes on. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Hodge therefore could not compete during her first year at Georgia; she said she was a “regular student” and tried to support her teammates the best she could while needing to be separated from them. She said Smith-Gilbert told her to put her trust in God, and she said she read her Bible a lot.

She also learned a little more about herself.

“Solitude isn’t always horrible,” Hodge said. “Being alone isn’t always horrible.”

Hodge followed up her NCAA record on Thursday by qualifying first in the 200, jogging through the line and finishing in 21.96. Come Saturday, she’ll have the chance to score 20 team points as the Bulldogs look to win the outdoor team title, too.

And that seemed to be where Hodge’s focus is. She said that when Smith-Gilbert saw her after the 100-meter record, her coach just shook her head and walked away.

“We knew it was coming,” Hodge said. “We didn’t know when. And we were surprised that it came today. But like I said – the job isn’t finished.”