With her usual effortless grace, Felix coasted into the semifinals of the 400 meters, her mind focused on getting her first gold in the one-lap race a decade after she won her first world title in the 200.
Advertisement
Colombian triple jumper Caterine Ibarguen and Jamaican runner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are the hopes of Latin America and the Caribbean during the third day of IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) World Championships Beijing 2015.
The 1.52m (five feet) sprinter, competing with her braided hair dyed green and topped off with a garland of yellow flowers, will face a stern examination from American Tori Bowie, English Gardner, Nigerian Blessing Okagbare, fellow Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown and Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers.
The 28-year-old Jamaican has rediscovered her sharpness after a disappointing 2014 by her impeccable standards, winning Diamond League races in Eugene, Paris and Stockholm and posting the year’s fastest time of 10.74s.
Meanwhile France’s Renaud Lavillenie, the Olympic champion and world record holder, is bidding to end his world championship hoodoo in the men’s pole vault.
Bolt floored American rival Gatlin for gold in the men’s 100m on Sunday, sending a packed Bird’s Nest stadium into raptures as he defended his title and reaffirmed his standing as the world’s fastest man.
“I was a little conservative, but just enough to win”.
Prodigious American talent Shamier Little endured a tricky opening heat in the women’s 400m hurdles, though, with the world junior champion just slipping through to the semi-finals in fourth after losing her stride on the home stretch. Germany’s Tobias Scherbath finished seventh.
Advertisement
“Then at the London Olympics in 2012, as defending champion, were great expectations of me and I was still able to win the 100m gold medal”, Fraser-Pryce, who won the silver medal in the 200 metres in 2012 Games, added.
