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USA athletes breeze through qualifying
| BERLIN – Team USA advanced 12 of 16 athletes through the rounds Tuesday morning at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at the 1936 Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. Crawford, Spearmon and Clark to run tonight’s 2nd round Veterans Shawn Crawford (Los Angeles) and Wallace Spearmon (College Station, Texas), if Spearmon can be considered at veteran at just 24 years old, easily moved into tonight’s second round while rookie Charles Clark clawed his way in. Two-time Olympic 200m medalist Shawn Crawford easily won heat 1 in the first round of the men’s 200 meters in 20.60. It was the fastest time in this morning’s first round. Two-time World Outdoor medalist Wallace Spearmon coasted to second place in heat 9 in 20.66 and reigning NCAA Outdoor champion Charles Clark (Virginia Beach, Va.) took third in heat 2 in 20.87. Rome and Malone goe to discus final On his first throw of the competition, two-time Olympian Casey Malone (Ft. Collins, Colo.) automatically qualified for the men’s discus final with his toss of 65.13 meters/213 feet 8 inches. 2004 Olympian Jarred Rome (Chula Vista, Calif.) automatically qualified for the final on his second throw with a mark of 65.51m/214-11. Three-time USA champion Ian Waltz (Chula Vista, Calif.) had his best effort on his third throw of the day with a mark of 62.04m/203-6. Waltz did not qualify for the final. Three move on in men’s 400m Wearing his signature red, white and blue shades, two-time world champion Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas) cruised through the first round of the men’s 400m, winning heat 6 in 45.54. Reigning Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.) easily won heat 4 in 45.23. Lionel Larry(Compton, Calif.) , who placed fourth in heat 1 in 45.64, was the last qualifier on time into Wednesday’s semifinal. Texas A&M’s Gil Roberts (Oklahoma City, Okla.) was fifth in heat 5 and did not advance. Willard and Wurth-Thomas head to 1,500m semi Former American record holder in the steeplechase, Anna Willard (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), ran a strong race and finished fifth in heat 2 in 4:08.13. Leading for much of the race, Christin Wurth-Thomas (Springdale, Ark.) finished fourth in heat 3 in 4:08.23. Willard and Wurth-Thomas each automatically qualified for Friday’s semifinal. After some bumping and shoving in the first 200m which caused Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif.) to fall to the track, she finished 11th in heat 1 in 4:10.30. Acuff and Howard soar into high jump final 2005 world silver medalist Chaunte Howard (Snellville, Ga.) cleared the automatic qualifier, 1.95m/6-4.75, on her first attempt and finished tied for fourth overall in qualifying of the women’s high jump. Four-time Olympian Amy Acuff (Isleton, Calif.) cleared 1.95m/6-4.75 on her second attempt to finish eighth in qualifying and save her a spot in the final. This is Acuff’s eighth appearance at a World Championships and sixth straight finals appearance. 2008 Olympian Sharon Day (Costa Mesa, Calif.), who finished 10th in the heptathlon at these Championships, had first attempt clearances at 1.80m/5-10.75, 1.85m/6-0.75 and 1.89m/6-2.25 before going out at 1.92m/6-3.5. Team names Thurmond and Lagat captains Team USA voted via email on Sunday to name the captains for this team in Berlin. A four-time world team member and three-time Olympian, four-time USA Outdoor champion Aretha Hill Thurmond has been named captain of the women’s team. Three-time U.S. 5,000m and two-time U.S. 1,500m champion Bernard Lagat, who made history in 2007 when he became the first man ever to win the 1,500m/5,000m middle-distance double at World Outdoors, has been named the men’s team captain. Team USA Medal Table – 2009 World Championships in Athletics Gold (1) Christian Cantwell (Columbia, Mo.), men’s shot put, 22.03m/72-3.50 Silver (2) Tyson Gay (Clermont, Fla.), men’s 100 meters, 19.71 Chelsea Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.), women’s pole vault 4.65m/15-3 Bronze (1) Carmelita Jeter (Inglewood, Calif.) women’s 100 meters, 10.90 For complete results, quotes and Team USA reports, visit www.usatf.org. Fans can watch Team USA on national television broadcasts on NBC and Versus, or online via live, daily Webcast at www.universalsports.com. For complete TV listings, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/IAAFWorldOutdoorChampionships/mediaCoverage.asp. |
About USA Track & Field
USA
Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and
field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.
USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the
most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and
junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult
runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
USA
Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and
field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.
USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the
most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and
junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult
runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
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