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Erin Tucker
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Erin Tucker, a four-time Southeastern Conference Track Champion and six-time All-American at the University of Florida from 1994-99, returned to his alma mater where he is in his second season as the assistant track and field coach for hurdles.
In 2012, sophomore Eddie Lovett claimed his second consecutive 60-meter hurdles title at Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, while scoring at both the NCAA Indoor Championships (8th – 7.72, 60H – tying the school record) and NCAA Outdoor Championships (5th – 13.82, 110H). As the youngest competitor in the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials, he advanced to the semifinals of the event, racing to a personal best of 13.49 to move into second all-time in Florida school history. In 2012, Lovett was a two-time All-American and two-time All-SEC (first team indoors, second team outdoors), while also being named to Team USA for NACAC U-23 Championships
Tucker, the 2006 Mid-East Regional Men´s Assistant Coach of the Year, rejoined the Gator family after spending the past eight seasons at the University of Kentucky. While with the Wildcats, Tucker helped lead the track and field program to some of the most successful seasons in program history. During his tenure at UK, Tucker coached 27 All-Americans, 26 All-SEC honorees, 15 All-Region athletes, six SEC champions, three NCAA runner-ups and an NCAA Champion (Rondel Sorrillo, 200m, 2010). Under Tucker´s tutelage, 34 school records fell and 67 athletes ranked in the top-10 in school history.
Four of Tucker’s athletes participated in the Summer Olympics during Tucker’s time at Kentucky. Luis Luna was Tucker´s first athlete to see Olympic action as she competed in the 400m for Venezuela in the 2004 Athens Games. In 2008, three of Tucker´s athletes competed in the Beijing Olympics as Sorrillo (200m) and Mikel Thomas (110m high hurdles) competed for Trinidad and Tobago, while Jose Acevedo competed for Venezuela in the 200m.
During the 2008 Beijing Games, Tucker also made his coaching debut on the Olympic stage as he was hand chosen by the Venezuelan National Team to work with its sprinters as an assistant coach.
Prior to his time in Lexington, Tucker, a UF team captain from 1997-99, spent three seasons as an assistant at the University of Illinois. While with the Illini, Tucker helped coach six All-Big Ten selections, a record breaking Big Ten Champion and an All-American. Additionally, during his stay in Champaign, Tucker´s athletes broke multiple school records and posted 10 top-10 marks in program history.
Before entering coaching as a volunteer assistant with the Gators in the 1999-2000 season, Tucker enjoyed a prolific collegiate career at UF. A four-time SEC champion and a six-time All-American, Tucker won the 400-meter hurdles at the 1998 SEC Championships with a personal best time of 49.82, which still ranks as the sixth-fastest time in Florida history. Tucker also ran on three conference championship teams and four All-America mile relay teams for UF. Tucker was also a two-time All-SEC academic honoree at Florida, where he earned a B.A. in History and a Masters degree in Education.
Tucker, a USATF Certified Level I Track and Field Coach, lives in Gainesville with his wife, April, and is the father of Ezra Tucker (3) and Erin Hakim Tucker II (nicknamed Jr.), born in November 2012.
The Tucker File
Hometown: Hempstead, N.Y.
Education: Bachelors in History, Florida, 1998; Masters in History Education, Florida, 2000.
Running Career:
1994-1999: Florida (hurdles/relays)
Coaching Career:
2000-03, University of Illinois, assistant coach, sprints and hurdles; 2003-11, University of Kentucky, assistant coach, sprints and hurdles; 2011-Present, University of Florida, assistant coach, jumps and hurdles.
Career Totals:
- At Florida: 2 All-America honors; 2 All-SEC honors; 1 SEC Champion.
- At Kentucky:1 individual national champion; 27 All-America honors; 4 Olympians; 6 SEC individual titles.
- At Illinois:1 All-America honor; 6 All-Big Ten honors; 1 Big Ten Champion.
