Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com Asher-Smith seizes golden opportunity

Holloway glides to gold as McLeod tumbles

DOHA, Oct 3, (RTRS): Dina Asher-Smith seized her golden opportunity to win the world championship 200 meters and become the first British woman to claim a global sprint title.

With many of the top medal contenders pulling out or skipping the event, Asher-Smith proved the class act in the field, powering home in a national record 21.88 seconds to add gold to the silver she won in the 100m.

“You’re only the favourite if you go out and perform how people expect you to and I was really focused on putting together a good race,” said Asher-Smith. “I dreamt of this but now it’s real.

“I know I was tired and woke up today knowing this was the last individual chance and this was the moment I did all my work for,” she added.

“This is what we knew we could achieve if the season went well and the tiredness just disappeared when I needed it to. It’s a different thing with everyone saying you’re the favourite but it’s a different thing going and doing it.” The once mighty United States, who had been a non-factor in the women’s sprints in Doha, also benefited from the scratches as Brittany Brown grabbed the

Wojciech Nowicki, of Poland, competes in the men’s hammer throw final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar on Oct 2.

(AP)

silver in 22.22.

Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji completed the podium by grabbing bronze in 22.51.

The fight for medals was blown wide open when some of sprinting’s biggest names withdrew during the earlier rounds.

The race was missing the reigning world and Olympic champions in Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers and Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson who withdrew due to injuries.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo of Bahamas, owner of the fastest time this season, elected to race the 400m only due to scheduling issues.

The world 100m champion ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce and bronze medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou scratched because of soreness from earlier races while Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare, who had run the third fastest time this season, was disqualified in her heat.

None of that mattered to Asher-Smith who was focused on making history, the 23-year-old blasting out of the blocks and in command coming off the bend before cruising to victory.

“I made sure that I remained focus,” said Asher-Smith. “It’s very easy to come here, to be in great shape but to lose focus over something very silly like getting caught up in the moment.

“Whenever I finish a championship, I always want to be able to look back and say I absolutely gave everything that I could have.” The victory doubled Britain’s medal tally at the championships to two, both coming from Asher-Smith.

But the last few days of the competition could bring more gold for Britain with Katarina Johnson-Thompson taking a 96-point lead into the second day of the heptathlon.

Asher-Smith could also add to her haul in the 4x100m relay.

“I’ve got to relax and rest,” smiled Asher-Smith. “Maybe I’ll have a little cake. There are nice cakes in our hotel. Maybe a piece and a chocolate bounty.

Grant Holloway of the United States blazed to his first 110-metres hurdles world title in a dramatic race in which defending champion Omar McLeod fell.

The 21-year-old Holloway, who came into the championships with the season’s fastest run of 12.98 seconds, smoothly glided through 10 hurdles to cross the line in 13.10, five hundredths of a second

Athletes (from left), Fredrik Samuelsson, of Sweden, Vitaliy Zhuk, of Belarus, Niklas Kaul, of Germany, and Pawel Wiesiolek, of Poland, race in the men’s

decathlon 110-meter hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar on Oct 3. (AP)

ahead of Sergey Shubenkov.

“The race was a blessing,” Holloway said. “My goal was just to come out here and execute each and every round. I felt like I did that.” Favourite to defend his title, Jamaican McLeod came out of the starting blocks fast but his race quickly turned sour as he knocked down hurdles and tumbled to the track before reaching the finish line.

McLeod’s problems seemed to upset Diamond League champion Orlando Ortega in the next lane and he finished fifth in 13.30 seconds.

McLeod said he had felt a hamstring strain in the warm-up and thought it would go away.

“I was ready to go, I showed up ready,” McLeod said. “I put myself in the very best situation to defend my title.” Capitalising on McLeod’s fall, Shubenkov, the 2015 world champion, took his second consecutive world silver with a technically sound run of 13.15 seconds. Gold medalist Britain’s Dina AsherSmith smiles during the award ceremony for the women’s 200m at the World Athletics Championships in

Doha, Qatar on Oct 3. (AP)