USA sweeps men’s 400,
Felix has historic win at
World Outdoor Champs
Posted August 31st, 2007 at 11:30 AM by Jamal Walker
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Jeremy Wariner led the first-ever sweep of the men’s 400 and Allyson Felix (Pictured) defended her world 200m title with the largest margin of victory in World Championships history Friday night at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Adding a pair of medals in the men’s 110m hurdles, Team USA picked up six medals at Nagai Stadium to bring its overall total to 19.
The defending Olympic and World Champion, Wariner (Waco, Texas) entered Osaka heavily favored in the 400, with the U.S. expected to sweep. Wariner and his compatriots LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.) and Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.) came through in speedy fashion.
Merritt got out well, appearing to hold a very slight lead at 200 meters, with Wariner and Chris Brown of the Bahamas relatively even. Wariner then took over and gradually extended his lead over the final straight, winning in a world-leading, personal-best time 43.46 seconds, with Merritt second in 43.96. It was the first time Merritt has dipped under 44 seconds and it made him only the second man to do so since world record holder Michael Johnson. The 2000 Olympic 400m hurdles champion, Taylor got out slowly, rallied on the turn and held off Brown for third, running 44.32 to Brown’s Bahamian national record 44.45.
Felix sends a message
Standing a willow 5-6 and 115 pounds, 2005 women’s 200m gold medalist Felix demonstrated not only her fitness but her fierce determination to win and her utter, global domination of the 200. A showdown between Felix, 2006 IAAF World Athlete of the Year Sanya Richards and Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell of Jamaica had been anticipated weeks before the Championships, but the race was no contest.
Campbell bolted out of the blocks, but Felix began closing on her on the turn. With 75 meters remaining, Felix simply took off, striding to the gold medal and a huge personal best of 22.81 seconds (1.7 mps wind), the fastest time run by a woman this century. The time improved Felix’s previous best by .30 and defeated Campbell in second (22.34) by an astounding .53, the biggest margin of victory in World Championships history. (Inger Miller ran 21.77 to 22.22 for Beverly McDonald of Jamaica in 1999; Felix’s time is the fastest in any race since Miller in ‘99.) It was also the largest margin of victory in a major championship since legendary Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands won the 1948 Olympic title by .8 seconds in a hand-timed 24.4.
In the race for bronze, Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka finished third in 22.65, inching out 2003 World Outdoor silver medalist Torri Edwards (Corona, Calif.) in fourth in 22.65. Richards (Austin, Texas) was fifth in 22.70 and LaShaunte’a Moore (Akron, Ohio) seventh in 22.97.
Felix, who also has set personal bests at 100m (11.01) and 400m (49.70) this year, is not done in Osaka: she has plans to compete in Team USA’s relays on Saturday and Sunday.
Written by: Jill Greer
Via: USA Track & Field
Related Stories:
- AT&T USA Outdoor T&F Champs: Felix flies in Visa women’s 200
- AT&T USA Outdoor T&F Champs: Gay makes more history in AT&T men’s 200m
- AT&T USA Outdoor T&F Champs: Carter wins Tyson Men’s 400m Hurdles
- AT&T USA Outdoor T&F Champs: Veterans Abdi Abdirahman & Deena Kastor win 10,000m titles
- AT&T men’s 200m takes center stage at AT&T USA Outdoor Champs on Jun 21-22
Tags: 400m, allyson felix, Angelo Taylor, beverly mcdonald, chris brown, fanny blankers koen, IAAF, IAAF World Championships, IAAF World Championships in Athletics, inger miller, Japan, Jeremy Wariner, LaShauntea Moore, LaShawn Merritt, live race coverage, medal, michael johnson, Nagai Stadium, Osaka, sanya richards, Susanthika Jayasinghe, Team USA, torri edwards, USA Track & Field, usatf, veronica campbell
Like what you see? Subscribe to our feed!
The Final Sprint
[…] Zac Efron USA sweeps men’s 400, Felix has historic win at World Outdoor Champs » This Summary is from an article posted at The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication on Friday, August 31, 2007 This article’s contents are copywritten by the author of The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication. Please click "View Original Article…" below to view the article. Summary Provided by Technorati.comView Original Article at The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication » 10 Most Recent News Articles About Chris Brown […]
August 31st, 2007 at 2:22 pm