Track star Wilson going pro

Britton Wilson has decided to run for cash instead of medals and ribbons. The former Richmond athlete is leaving the University of Arkansas to pursue a professional career sponsored by HSI Sports Agency.

Wilson starred locally for Mills Godwin High before enrolling first at the University of Tennessee and more recently at Arkansas.

She ranks among the fastest women in the world for the 400 hurdles and flat 400. Her personal bests are 53.04 for a quarter mile over sticks and 49.13 for the flat 400.

Wilson, 22, is the daughter of former VCU basketball guard Vince Wilson. She finished fifth in the 400 hurdles at last year’s World Championships in Eugene, Ore., and raced a leg on the and ultimately won six MVP trophies while scoring an alltime record 38,387 points.

U.S. winning 4x400 relay.

Wilson suffered a minor setback at the recent NCAA championships in Austin, Tex. She was second in the 400 hurdles and a disappointing seventh in the hurdles.

The schedule offered her little recovery time. There were only 25 minutes between the end of the hurdles and the start of the open 400.

Her first pro runs could be July 6-9 at the USATF Outdoor championships in Eugene. There she will likely compete against Sidney McLaughlin-Levrone, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ 400-meter hurdles champ. Wilson also will likely begin competition on the international Diamond Tour. Certainly a goal will be to qualify, possibly in 400 and 400 hurdles, for the 2024 Olympics in France.

Artis Gilmore, like Moses Malone, came from the old ABA to become a powerful NBA figure. Gilmore stands about 7-foot-3 and towered even higher with one of the NBA’s all-time Afros.

What if Bill Walton had never been injured? “The Grateful Red” was on a path to the summit when chronic foot problems dulled his skills.

Shaquille O’Neal may have been even more physically dominant than Chamberlain at nearly 300 pounds.

Hakeem Olajuwon, the “Nigerian Nightmare,” is likely the all-time defender with 3,830 blocked shots.

And how about Malone, who came out of Petersburg High with no college experience to become a three-time MVP and 12-time all-star.

Pat Ewing was the pride of the Big Apple, earning 11 All-Star rings with the New York Knicks.

The “Admiral,” David Robinson was a 10-time All-Star and one-time MVP who kept

San Antonio near the top of league for 14 seasons. Not mentioned here is 6-foot-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo. The “Greek Freak” is too much of a perimeter player, as much a guard as a center. Also not mentioned is former Virginia Union sensation Ben Wallace, who later starred with Detroit. Wallace was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame, but his career averages of 5.7 points, 9.6 boards, 1.3 assists and 41.4 percent foul shooting doesn’t make “the greatest” cut.

Going head-to-head in the same era with Jokic is Embiid, who was runner-up MVP in 2021 and 2022 before taking top honors this go-round.

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Jokic, in time, might deserve the highest honors. But there’s no reason to rush judgment — check back about 2033.

And by then there may be another contender. French teenager Victor Wembanyama, aka “Wemby,” is coming soon to an NBA arena near you.