J’cans come up empty on day 8
EUGENE, Oregon — Jamaica failed to add to its six medal haul on Friday’s exciting eighth day of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Oregon despite having four athletes competing in three finals.
Stephenie Ann McPherson was fifth in the women’s 400m and Candice McLeod was seventh; Christopher Taylor finished seventh in the men’s 400m; and Rushell Clayton was sixth in the women’s 400m hurdles.
The day was highlighted by a world record 50.68 seconds run from American Sydney McLaughlin, breaking her own 51.41 set a month ago at Hayward Field.
Meanwhile, both Jamaica’s 4x100m relays teams advanced to today’s final after yesterday’s semi-finals, while Natoya Goule-Toppin qualified for the women’s 800m finals set to be run on Sunday’s final day.
The women’s team of Briana Williams, Natalliah Whyte, Remona Burchell and Kemba Nelson clocked 42.37 seconds for second in their semi-final behind Great Britain (41.99).
The men’s team of Ackeem Blake, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Conroy Jones and Jelani Walker ran 38.33 seconds to advance on time.
Goule-Toppin continued to impress as she was second in her 800m semi-final in 1:58.73 minutes, but Adelle Tracey failed to advance despite placing third in her semi-final in 2:00.21 minutes.
McPherson ran 50.36 seconds and McLeod 50.78 as Shaunae Miller-Uibo won with a world-leading 49.11. Miller-Uibo beat Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic (49.60) into second. Sada Williams, who is based at the MVP club in Kingston, lowered her Barbadian national record to 49.75 seconds to take the bronze medal.
Taylor, who ran out of lane one, clocked 45.30 for seventh as American Michael Norman won in 44.29. Norman held off Grenada’s Kirani James (44.68) and Great Britain’s Mathew Hudson-Smith who was third in 44.66.
Clayton, the bronze medallist in Doha 2019 who ran a personal best in the semi-finals, managed sixth as McLaughlin outclassed the field. The American left Holland’s Femke Bol in second in a season’s best 52.27. Defending champion Dalilah Muhammad was third in 53.13.
— Paul A Reid
