Sanya Richards Wins 400M Gold; US Medal Winners

Richards wins gold medal in women’s 400 meters

In
her first ever trip to a World Outdoor Championships, 2009 USA Outdoor
Championships runner-up Debbie Dunn (Norfolk, Va.), finished sixth in
the final in 50.35.
Clement keeps world title

2007
world champion and 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist Kerron Clement
(Gainesville, Fla.) joined elite company this evening in winning his
second consecutive world outdoor title.

Clement,
who entered this evening’s action as the #1 ranked men’s 400m hurdler
in the world, was in command throughout tonight’s final and won it
convincingly in the fastest time in the world this year of 47.91
seconds. Clement joins National Track & Field Hall of Famer Edwin
Moses (1983, 1987) and Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic (2001,
2003; who finished 8th tonight) as the only men ever to win the world
400m hurdles title twice, with all three accomplishing the feat in
consecutive years.

Other Americans who have won world 400m hurdles titles include Kevin Young (1993) and Derrick Adkins (1995).

Yurkovich places 12th in javelin final

Two-time
NCAA champion Rachel Yurkovich (Eugene, Ore.), who at these
Championships became the first American woman to qualify for the
women’s javelin final at a World Championships since Karin Smith
finished 10th in 1983, finished 12th in tonight’s final with a best
throw of 51.15 meters/167 feet 9 inches.

Demus, Williams move on to 400m hurdles final

2005
World Outdoor silver medalist and current world leader (52.63, July 28)
Lashinda Demus wasted no time in grabbing control of the third semi
final of the women’s 400m hurdles. Demus led very shortly after the gun
and was in command the entire way in winning the race easily in 54.25
seconds. She’ll next take to the track for the final on Thursday night.

Also
securing a spot in the final was 2008 Olympic Trials champion Tiffany
Williams (Orlando, Fla.), who ran out of lane 5 in heat 2, and finished
third in 53.28 seconds. 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist and 2007 Pan
Am Games champion Sheena Tosta (Chula Vista, Calif.) ran in lane eight
in the first semi final and finished sixth  in 56.31.

200m trio advances to semifinals

Team
USA’s men’s 200m threesome all advanced through to the semi finals with
little difficulty led by 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2008 Olympic
silver medalist Shawn Crawford (Los Angeles, Calif.). Crawford got out
well and appeared in great form in heat 2. He grabbed the lead early
out of lane 3 and held it the rest of the way in cruising to the win in
20.37.

2005
World Outdoor Championships silver medalist and 2007 World bronze
medalist Wallace Spearmon (College Station, Tex.) got out in his usual
fashion and made up enough ground over the last 60 meters to secure a
second-place finish in 20.44.
2009 NCAA Outdoor champion and
runner-up at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships Charles Clark (Virginia
Beach, Va.) finished fourth in the first heat in 20.55 out of lane 8.
Clark advanced to the semis on time. Next up will be the semifinals
Wednesday night at Olympic Stadium.

Harper, Cherry, Powell advance in 100m hurdles

A
talented and accomplished quartet of Team USA 100m hurdlers hit the
track early this evening for their first round of competition. First to
answer the gun was reigning Olympic and U.S. champion Dawn Harper (Los
Angeles, Calif.), who broke well at the start in heat 1 and held the
lead throughout in winning in 12.70 seconds. Her performance was the
third-fastest of the round.

Next
up in heat 2 was 2008 Olympic Games fourth-place finisher Damu Cherry
(Winter Garden, Fla.), who was in third place at the fourth hurdle, and
in first place as she soared over the eighth hurdle. Cherry went on to
win easily in 12.71 seconds, with Lacena Golding-Clarke of Jamaica the
runner-up in 12.90.

Michelle
Perry (Santa Clarita, Calif.) stepped into the blocks in heat 3 as the
two-time defending world champion in this event. However, things did
not go well for Perry and she finished seventh in 13.68 seconds. Perry
injured her right knee (lateral collateral ligament) while warming up
at the Herculis Super Grand Prix in Monaco on July 28. Perry’s knee was
wrapped in white tape and she was limping after crossing the finish
line.

Two-time USA Outdoor champion Ginnie Powell (Los Angeles,
Calif.) got out well in heat 4 and wound up finishing as the runner-up
in 12.77. Harper, Cherry and Powell now look forward to tomorrow
night’s semifinals.
Team USA Medal Table – 2009 World Championships in Athletics

Gold (1)

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
Bershawn Jackson (Savoy, Ill.) men’s 400m hurdles, 48.23
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.

For
more information on Team USA at the World Outdoor Championships, visit
http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/IAAFWorldOutdoorChampionships/.