Fisher, Minor lead way for Team USA in qualifying at World Youth

7/11/2013

DONETSK, UKRAINE - Impressive performances by Grant Fisher in the 1500m and Colin Minor in the hammer throw led the way for Team USA to advance every single athlete to the next round of competition during the Thursday morning session at the IAAF World Youth Championships.

Minor (Southport, N.C.) improved his personal best by nearly two meters to advance to the final of the hammer throw. Minor was set to advance as the 12th best performer with his mark of 70.11m/230-0 on his second attempt, but Volodymyr Myslyvchuk of Ukraine bumped him out of qualifying in the next round. On Minor’s final trip to the cage, he sent the hammer flying 71.52m/234-7 to record his second personal best of the day and surpass the automatic qualifying mark by two centimeters. Minor’s mark is a high school record with the international weight hammer by more four and half meters.

Fisher (Grand Blanc, Mich.) had the race of his life in the first round of the men’s 1500m. On the backstretch of the final lap, Fisher was in 7th place and appeared to be out of contention for advancing to the final. But with 200m remaining, Fisher found another gear and fought his way to the front to take the win in a personal best of 3:50.30. Fisher would have been the first young American to ever win the first round of the 1500m at the World Youth Championships, but Blake Haney (Bakersfield, Calif.) accomplished the feat minutes earlier as he comfortably won the second heat in 3:51.95. Both athletes will race in Sunday’s final.

In the women’s shot put, both Americans advanced to tonight’s final with ease. Ashlie Blake (Las Vegas, Nev.) only needed one trip to the ring to send the shot 16.85m/55-3.5 to qualify automatically to the final. Lena Giger (Highland, Ill.) took all three throws, with a best of 15.84m/51-11.75 sending her to the final as the ninth best mark of the morning.

Raevyn Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Ersula Farrow (Grosse Point Park, Mich.) secured their spots in the semi-finals in the women’s 800m. Farrow won the third heat in 2:09.98, while Rogers took second in the first heat in 2:08.17 to advance automatically.

In the women’s pole vault Texans Desiree Freier (Fort Worth) and Zoe McKinley (Hurst) cleared 3.90m/12-9.5 to advance automatically for the final. The women will have one day off before returning for the final on Saturday evening.

Marlon Humphrey (Hoover, Ala.) turned in the fastest time of the day in the first round of the men’s 110m hurdles. Running into a slight headwind of -0.8, Humphrey ran to a personal best of 13.42. Isaiah Moore (Burlington, N.C.) also clocked a personal best of 13.66 to advance to the semifinals.

Samantha Gonzalez (Carrollton, Texas) secured her spot in the final of the women’s 400m as the fastest qualifier on time. Gonzalez finished third in the first heat, in a time of 59.74.

Competing in the IAAF’s youngest age group, the 16- and 17-year-old athletes were selected to represent Team USA after competing in the World Youth Track & Field Trials in Edwardsville, Ill., on June 25-26.

For complete results of the 2013 IAAF World Championships, visit www.IAAF.org. Competition resumes this afternoon following the opening ceremonies at 4:00pm local time.

Athlete Quotes

Colin Minor, men’s hammer throw, qualification B
“If it works, it works. I just made it in. I was in 12th, then the kid from Ukraine hit the standard and pushed me out, so I knew I had to have it on that last throw, and I had it by two centimeters. My overall goal was just to make the final, so now this has happened, everything else is just icing on the cake.”

Marlon Humphrey, men’s 110m hurdles, round 1
“I’m getting a lot more comfortable, this only my second time running these little hurdles, so I felt pretty good with it being my second time. Right now I’ve got to focus on the 400m hurdle semis tonight, then I get to sleep in a bit, then two rounds of hurdles tomorrow. I’m feeling pretty good coming out of prelims.”

Isiah Moore, men’s 110m hurdles, round 1
“It went well. I didn’t hit a hurdle and got out really good. It feels good here, there is a lot of energy.”

Raevyn Rogers, women’s 800m, round 1
“I just had to get my mind right and focus. I learned how the other competitors run and now I know what to expect from them.”

Ersula Farrow, women’s 800m, round 1
“I was just trying to be in the top three, but I just went for it. It is only the semis, but still I just wanted to make sure I’m good. I had a lot of fun on the track.”

Zoe McKinley, women’s pole vault, qualification A
“It feels really good to make it to the finals. There is a relief off my shoulders. I learned to just focus on myself and make sure I jumped high. I’m going to mentally prepare and believe in myself.”

Desiree Freier, women’s pole vault, qualification B
“I’m pretty excited. My goal was to come out here and make it to the finals, and now I have. I’m just going to give it my all when I get there. This is very, very different. Back home the stadium is not this big. I definitely like it.”

Blake Haney, men’s 1500m, round 1
“It was a lot of relief. I felt good with about 400m to go, so I decided to go. I was feeling good, and I had a few gears left if I needed them, but fortunately I didn't need them.

Grant Fisher, men’s 1500m, round 1
“It felt great. Watching Blake coming up the line was inspiring. We can do this, and it gave me confidence being part of the USA. I felt like if Blake can do it, then anybody can do it, it doesn’t matter what your seeded at, or if you aren’t the biggest guy in the field. I felt great and I'm really happy with the outcome. That was a big PR for me.”

Samantha Gonzales, women’s 400m hurdles, semi-final
“I’ve just got to work on my hurdle form and get that down. I’m going to get focused and stay ready for the final.”