Tough for Jamaica’s trio in women’s 400m semis
MOSCOW, Russia — The Jamaican women have their work cut out for them if they are to advance to Monday’s final of the 400m at the 14th IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki stadium when the semi-finals are run later today.
All three women advanced from Saturday’s first round with Novlene Williams-Mills and Stephanie McPherson both placing second in their heats while Patricia Hall was third.
The semi-finals will start at 11:05am Jamaican time and Hall, who ran 52.20 seconds in the heats, will run out of lane eight with defending champion and red hot favourite Amantle Montsho of Botswana and Nigerian Regina George tipped to take the two automatic qualifying spots.
Williams-Mills who has been well received by the crowd and her fellow competitors after her public announcement of her battle with breast cancer is in semi-final two along with Olympic silver medallist Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain and American Natasha Hastings.
After Saturday’s first round, Williams Mills told reporters, “It feels good to just come out and compete,” while showing off her pink bracelet and pink laces in her pick running spikes in honour of breast cancer survivors.
In her first race in over a month since failing to complete a race in Lausanne on July 4th, Williams-Mills said it was good to be back on the track and said a knee injury that has been bothering her was her only slight concern.
“I haven’t run since Lausanne and it’s been a while but it’s good to get the dust off and get ready to go again,” she said.
The usually unflappable McPherson who runs out of lane three in the third semi, yesterday admitted to a touch of nerves before her first assignment in a national uniform but looked in control of her race, leading off the curve before easing down near the end.
She said the aim was to run 51.00 seconds after a good 300m, “I never wanted to run 50.00 seconds,” she said.