- ReutersJamaica's Michelle Freeman clears a hurdle during her 60-metre hurdles qualifying heat at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Lisbon yesterday.
LISBON, CANA:
JAMAICA'S Michelle Freeman claimed the Caribbean's first medal at the 8th IAAF World Indoor Track and Field championship when she finished second in the 60 metres hurdles last night.
Freeman, the pre-race favourite, clocked 7.92 seconds, as US champion Anjanette Kirkland sped to victory in 7.85 seconds.
Several Caribbean competitors moved through early rounds in other events including Guyana's Aliann Pompey, and Jamaicans Juliet Campbell, Sandie Richards, Charmaine Howell, Chris Williams, Danny McFarlane, and Davian Clarke.
Freeman, who had won her first round race in 8.04 seconds, and ran 7.95 for second to Kazakhstan's Olga Shishigina in her semi-final, was unable to regain the title she had won in 1997.
She led narrowly after three hurdles, but Kirkland edged ahead near the finish and won in a personal best 7.85 seconds, 0.02 seconds outside of Freeman's 2001 world best 7.83 in Lievin last month.
Freeman finished in 7.92 seconds, with Nicole Ramalalanirina of France third in 7.96 seconds. Shishigina (7.96) was fourth, and Jamaica's Lacena Golding was eighth in 8.24.
Cuba's Olympic champion Anier Garcia (7.54) was beaten by American Terrence Trammell (7.51) in the men's 60 hurdles in which Haiti's Dudley Dorival was seventh in 7.73 seconds. Jamaican Maurice Wignall did not survive the first round, in which he was eighth in 7.81 seconds.
World leader Campbell reaffirmed her status as 200 metre favourite, winning her semi-final in 22.72 seconds, the fastest time so far this year.
Campbell, a part-time model, had won her first round heat in 23.06 seconds, and then dismissed American Latasha Jenkins (23.03) in her semi-final race.
Natalya Vinogradova-Safronnikova of Belarus is the second fastest into Saturday's final at 23.02 seconds.
Williams, the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) 200-metre champion, moved into the men's final with times of 20.86 (first round) and 20.78 (semi-final). He is fourth quickest into the final, while American Kevin Little posted the best time of 20.73.
Bahamian Dominic Demeritte was eliminated after placing third in his heat in 21.52 seconds.
Richards, the 1993 World Indoor champion, ran 52.11 seconds to be the fastest into Saturday's women's 400-metre semi-finals. Her teammate Catherine Scott (53.82) failed to advance, but the Caribbean claimed another semi-final spot when Pompey took fourth in her heat in 53.32 seconds.
In the men's 400 metres, 2000 Olympic finalist McFarlane (46.90) and Clarke (47.20) qualified for the semis, but Bahamian Troy McIntosh (47.66) failed to make it. Britain's Danny Caines (46.65) is quickest and McFarlane had the fourth best time.
More detailed results on B2
Howell clocked two minutes 05.14 seconds in her 800 heat to reach Saturday's semis. Jolanda Steblovnik-Ceplak (Slovenia) 2:02.97 is the fastest going in.
In the men's heats, Barbadian Milton Browne (1:51.60) was eliminated after placing fourth in heat three, as Russian Yuriy Borzakovsky led the semi-final qualifiers at 1:47.28.
Olympic champion Stacy Dragila took most of the excitement out of the women's pole vault, failing three times at 4.56 metres to allow Czech Pavla Hamackova to take the title ahead of Russia's European record holder Svetlana Feofanova.
