Sprinters, Triple Jumpers Advance in Qualifying at World Championships

8/16/2013

MOSCOW - Team USA had an outstanding morning of qualifying in the sprints and in the women’s 4x400m as all U.S. athletes moved to the next round of competition, as well as Olympic medalists Will Claye and Christian Taylor in the triple jump during Friday’s morning session at the IAAF World Championships in Luzhniki Olympic Stadium.

All four U.S. women’s advanced through the first round of the 100m hurdles. Brianna Rollins (Miami, Fla.) ran 12.55, the fastest time from all the heats, out of heat five. Queen Harrison (Richmond, Va.) took the win in heat three in 12.95 to advance, while reigning Diamond League champion Dawn Harper (Los Angeles, Calif.) placed third in heat four at 12.84. Nia Ali (Philadelphia, Pa.) clocked 13.19 for fourth in heat one, automatically advancing.

It was a short day in the men’s triple jump qualification, as Claye (Gainesville, Fla.) and Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) didn’t need all three attempts to secure their spots in the final. Taylor landed a hop, skip and jump of 7.36m/56-11.5 on his first attempt, while Claye landed a mark of 17.08m/56-0.5 on his second attempt to advance to the final. Omar Craddock (Killeen, Texas) had a best mark of 16.40m/53-9.75 on his final attempt, but will not advance.

The men in the first round of the 200m continued the qualifying trend as all three moved along to the semifinals. Curtis Mitchell (Daytona Beach, Fla) ran 20.37 to win heat one after an impressive run on the turn. Wallace Spearmon (Dallas, Texas) finished third in the fifth heat at 20.59 and moves on automatically, while Isiah Young (Lafayette, Miss.) clocked 20.70 for second in the sixth heat to advance.

The U.S. women sailed through the first round of the 4x400m relay as the won the first heat in 3:25.18, more than four seconds ahead of second-place Italy. Ashley Spencer (Indianapolis, Ind.) got team out to an early lead on the first leg, then Jessica Beard (College Station, Texas) opened up a huge gap with her 49.78 carry. From there it was Joanna Atkins (Stone Mountain, Ga.) who increased the lead and Francena McCorory (Hampton, Va.) who anchored the team home to win the heat.

In the qualifying round of the women’s javelin, Brittany Borman (De Soto, Mo.) had a best mark of 57.63m/189-1 on her second attempt and will not advance to the finals.

The World Championships boast nearly 50 hours of television coverage in the U.S. with broadcasts airing during all nine days of competition. View the complete broadcast schedule here.

For more information on Team USA at the IAAF World Championships, visit www.USATF.org. Live results and startlists are available at www.IAAF.org.

Athlete Quotes

Nia Ali, women’s 100m hurdles first round
“I had a pretty good start, and I feel like I'm in pretty good shape to run. I've just had these nagging hamstring cramps. It's just cramps, not an injury but it does hinder the speed. Midrace it kind of got to my speed. I'm going to go to the second round. I’m going to go back and get everything worked on and get some aggressive treatment and get ready for tomorrow."

Queen Harrison, women’s 100m hurdles first round
"It was good. It was early in the morning and I'm not much of a morning person. It was good for me to get there and get the win in a comfortable time. I haven't raced in a while so it's the first time going over 10 hurdles in a while so I'll just get ready for tomorrow. I'm excited."

Dawn Harper, women’s 100m hurdles first round
“I felt good, I felt comfortable. That's exactly what me and Bobby [Kersee] wanted me to do, run a clean race, so that's what I did. I'm extremely excited for the next round.”

Brianna Rollins, women’s 100m hurdles first round
“I just came out here and ran a very relaxed race. I just focused on my lane, and just continue to glorify God. I just want to have fun with it and take each round one at a time."

Will Claye, men’s triple jump qualification
“It was good. I feel like I didn't have to exert too much energy. I feel like I have a lot in me for the finals. I'm trying to stay as calm as possible until Sunday.”

Christian Taylor, men’s triple jump qualification
“One and done. I'm sure my coach is very pleased. That was the plan. I didn't want to take too much of his time, I'm just appreciative. I had a lot of nerves going in, I can admit it now. I was pretty nervous, but now that that's done it's just time to have fun.”

Curtis Mitchell, men’s 200m first round
“It went good. I'm glad to get that first one out of the way. You don't really know how your body is going to respond, you've been sitting down all week. It's the first one so You're nervous and excited. I'm just thankful I came away with a healthy, nice, clean race.”

Omar Craddock, men's triple jump qualification
“It was just bad. I felt good, the runup felt good, my speed was there. Off the first phase I felt great. But I still just don't have a second phase. I've been battling it all year. Without it obviously I'm jumping short.”

Wallace Spearmon, men’s 200m first round
“It was too early. If I get a good lane in the semifinal, I'll move on to the finals and move past this."

Isiah Young, men’s 200m first round
“It's my first race. I didn't do as good as I wanted to. I did what my coach told me today. I thought I drove good, it's just my transition wasn't consistent like it usually is. I tried to win my heat but I came up second. I just hope I get a good lane in the semifinals.”

Ashley Spencer, 4x400m relay
“It was really good. I haven't run first leg before it was a good experience. I just wanted to focus on getting us in a good position to let everyone do their job comfortably and not push it.”

Jessica Beard, 4x400m relay
“I love second leg. I would do it all the time if I could. Ashley [Spencer] did so well. I just wanted to make sure I did what we talked about as a team and that make sure Francena [McCorory] didn't have to do a lot of work. She has a really hard round again tomorrow.”

Joanna Atkins, 4x400m relay
“I ran third leg. I was trying to make sure I ran a good leg, running the curve. We wanted to make sure Francena [McCorory] didn't have to do too much. I felt good about the race. We ran well.”

Francena McCorory, 4x400m relay
“My girls, they held me down. When I saw the baton go to Joanna [Atkins], I thought 'Yes, I can jog!" It was a great race. They made it real easy for me. We can all rest up and get ready for the finals tomorrow. It was fun. They did a great job."