Reigning world long jump champion Tianna Madison, who yesterday announced her decision to bypass her remaining NCAA eligibility at the University of Tennessee to pursue the sport professionally, will be able to collect the $60,000 first place prize from the world championships, a university official confirmed.

"She can collect the world championships prize money," Eric Trainer, the Lady Vols Assistant Director for Media Relations, said in an email to TPR. The 20-year-old Madison, a native of Elyria, Ohio, will be represented by John Nubani.

In Helsinki last August, Madison produced one of the biggest surprises at the World Track & Field Championships with her fifth round leap of 6.89m (22-7) to nab the title from Russian Tatyana Kotova, the reigning Olympic silver medallist. It was the second personal best of the championships, for Madison, then still a teenager. In the qualifying round, she leaped 6.83m (22-4), the farthest jump of the day. In 2005, she swept the indoor and outdoor SEC and NCAA titles in the long jump, and finished second at the U.S. national championships.

A standout at Elyria High School, Madison was a nine-time state champion in the sprints and long jump. During her senior year she became only the third athlete in Ohio history to capture four events in a state championship two years in a row. The first was another long jumper: Jesse Owens.

Madison will remain enrolled at the University of Tennessee where she is pursuing a degree in Social Work, and will continue to train in Knoxville.

"It took me this long to really weigh the pros and cons of staying or leaving," Madison said. "It had been a recurring thought since the conclusion of the World Championships."

Following a trend in recent years in which several top collegiate athletes have left the collegiate ranks for professional endorsement contracts, Madison's decision was expected. Her timing perhaps had more to do with shoe company's budgetary constraints.

"She should wait until after the New Year," one manager told TPR in Helsinki. "The shoe companies have already spent all their money for this year."