Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell (right) lunges towards the line to claim the silver medal behind winner Lauryn Williams of the United States (foreground) in the women's 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, yesterday. At far right is Sherone Simpson who placed sixth. - REUTERS
HELSINKI, Finland:
A LAST-GASP lunge by Jamaica's Veronica Campbell in the women's 100 metres final was not enough to catch fleet-footed American Lauryn Williams in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium last night.
Williams, the Olympic silver medallist in the event last year, led all the way in a persistent drizzle to take the prestigious gold medal at the 10th IAAF World Championships.
Campbell ran on strongly in the last 20 metres and was gaining rapidly on the American who managed to hold on. The American won the event in 10.93 seconds with Campbell two-hundredths of a second behind in a season-best 10.95.
Frenchwoman Christine Arron, the pre-race favourite, was third in 10.98.
Campbell's time showed that she was ready to give a grand performance but the 2004 Olympic 200m champion who appeared to slip slightly as she came out of the blocks refused to offer any excuses for her defeat.
A stone-faced Campbell said she was quite satisfied with the way she performed.
"The game plan was to stay focused and do what I have got to do. I am not going to say what I should have done or what I did not do. I am just going to move on and look forward to the next race," she said.
Campbell will next run in the women's 200m metres first round tomorrow.
Sherone Simpson, who squeezed into the final after earlier placing fourth in her semi-final, was fifth in 11.09.
In a very close finish for the minor placings, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh were all awarded the same time.
Gold medallist Williams is well-known in Jamaica. She won the world junior 100m title at the National Stadium three years ago and after last night's final said she ran close to the perfect race as she was really helped by the rounds here.
"The silver in Athens was good but this is great. This is the biggest win of my career."
Never short of words, the diminutive American said the rain was not a problem.
"The rain made no difference to me. I was so focused I did not feel it. There was a hurricane out there tonight but that is just my kind of weather."
Campbell's second place pushed Jamaica's medal tally at the nine-day championships to three - one gold and two silver.
Jamaica won four silver and one bronze at the last championships in 2003.
