Good run for Jamaicans on 2nd day of World Indoor Championships
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A National Indoors record of 3 minutes 29.43 seconds by the women’s 4x400m relay team highlighted a good morning’s performance by the Jamaican team on the second day of the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland.
All the members of the Jamaican team advanced past their first round, including two-time 60m champion Veronica Campbell Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
The Jamaican women’s 4x400m team placed second in the heat, behind the USA’s World Leading 3 minutes 29.06 seconds and ahead of Poland, all of who advanced to Sunday’s finals.
The men’s team also finished behind the USA in their heat and advanced as well, running 3 minutes 06.12 seconds.
Campbell Brown who was competing for the first time since June last year and a week after she was cleared of doping violations by the Court of Arbitration for Sports, was third in her 60m heat in 7.22 seconds to book a spot in Sunday’s semi-finals.
Fraser-Pryce easily won her heat in 7.12 seconds, second fastest behind 2012 silver medallist and favourite Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast who ran 7.09 seconds.
Andrew Riley was third in his 60m hurdles first round heat in 7.66 seconds, enough to qualify for the semi-finals.
Meanwhile the medal chase gets under way later today in the afternoon session when Kimberly Williams compete in the women’s triple jump finals and Kaliese Spencer and Patricia Hall line up in the women’s 400m final.
Williams had the best jump in Friday’s triple jump qualifying.
Spencer will run out of lane four while Hall will line up in lane six.
Nesta Carter and Kimmari Roach will contest the men’s 60m semi-finals and hope to advance to the finals later in the day while Monique Morgan will also contest the semi-finals of the women’s 60m hurdles semis with the finals also set for later today.