After the furore and relief for athletics fans that accompanied Usain Bolt’s charge to victory yesterday in Beijing, it was the turn of his compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to emulate his feats and clinch the women’s 100 metres title today. She retained her World Championships crown with a convincing performance, repelling the late rally from Dafne Schippers, the converted multi-discipline athlete from the Netherlands.
Colourful Hair for the winner
The 28-year-old Fraser-Pryce, sporting an especially colourful, flowery hair-do for the occasion was never headed in the final.
She leapt out of the blocks in typical fashion and moved well clear of the rest of the field, allowing her to celebrate before the line as she won the race in 10.76 seconds. That confidence allowed the far taller Schippers to narrow the deficit as she claimed a deserved silver medal in a new national record, relegating Tori Bowie from America to third.
Sprint star
Fraser-Pryce has been the dominant female sprinting force in much the same manner as Bolt has in the men’s equivalent events in recent times. The victory in Beijing was a remarkable sixth career gold at the World Championships, cementing her position among the best global athletes of all-time. She claimed the sprint double in 2013 and will be seeking to repeat the feat later in the week when the 200 metres begins.
Kemboi claims fourth title
Ezekiel Kemboi grabbed his fourth world men’s 3000m steeplechase title in succession. The Kenyan surged on the back straight and was then able to hold off the challenge from his compatriot Conseslus Kipruto over the final barrier, recording a winning time of 8:11.28. The Kenyans demonstrated their superiority in the event once again, filling the first four places.
Mixed results for the Brits
There were mixed emotions for the British athletes in qualification. Olympic long jump champion, Greg Rutherford qualified comfortably for Tuesday’s final. His leap of 8.25m was only bettered by Jeff Henderson from America with 8.36m.
Rutherford’s progress into the medal shoot-out was matched by Scotland’s Eilidh Child in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Despite an anxious wait after finishing outside the automatic qualifiers in her semi-final, she ultimately qualified as a fastest loser into the final.
Rabah Yousif ran a sparkling personal best of 44.54 seconds in the 400m semis, going below 45 seconds for the first time in his career to also qualify for a final. But there was disappointment for European Champion Martyn Rooney who failed to progress further, clearly struggling to back up his personal best run in the heats when he had recorded 44.45 seconds. He faded in the closing stages of his semi-final in what is fast becoming one of the outstanding events of the championships.
There was better news for the British female 400m athletes, with Christine Ohuruogu and Anyika Onuora both making it through to the semi-final stages.
