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Felix, Richards, Campbell and Edwards All Advance from 200m Heats

Posted August 28th, 2007 at 10:29 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Sanya Richards, in an interview with The Final Sprint said that she was healthy and was expecting to run under 22 seconds in the 200m of the IAAF world championships in Osaka. Allyson Felix, the defending champion, opted to skip the 100m to focus on the 200m. “I’m going to be extremely ready for that race,” she said in an interview last Friday.

With that kind of determination from two of the world’s best sprinters, the final this coming Friday, August 31st at 8:30am (Eastern Time) ought to be something to behold. Be sure to watch it live on WCSN.com. But first things first, they needed to get through the rounds.

In Heat 1 , Felix displayed her patented graceful form in winning with a time of 22.50, slowing at the end to conserve her strength for the later rounds. Susanthika Jayasinghe (SRI) and Sherry Fletcher (GRN) also dipped under 23 seconds.

In Heat 2, there were 2 false starts, with Emily Freeman (GBR) getting the disqualification. LaShauntea Moore powered her way to the win in that heat with a time of 22.93.

Bulgaria’s Tezzhan Naimova easily took Heat 3 with a time of 22.84.

Sanya Richards, looking very impressive and in complete control all the way, sailed through Heat 4, winning with a time of 22.74. Cydonie Mothersill (CAY) and Aleen Bailey (JAM) also ran in under 23 seconds.

Muriel Hurtis-Houairi of France and Kim Gevaert (BEL), the European champion and Belgian record holder at 22.20, went one-two in Heat 5 with times of 22.83 and 22.91.

In Heat 6, Torri Edwards would have her hands full with Veronica Campbell, the Osaka 100m gold medalist and 200m Olympic gold medalist, running in the same race. Campbell, with a PB of 22.05, has the fastest time coming into Osaka. Edwards led throughout the race, but eased to a 22.90 as Campbell took the heat with a time of 22.87. Both looked good, running well within themselves.

There were a total of 12 runners who ran under 23 seconds in the six opening heats. There seemed to be no indication of a forthcoming sub 22 race, but then none of the favorites had to work very hard to advance.