HURDLES WIN BEST IN 25 YEARS

Forgive Dafne Schippers for being dazed and dizzy. Running the fastest 200 metres at sea level in more than a quarter-century does that to you. What stupefies her even more is the realization where she is now and where she came from in barely a year.

“Give me some time to myself to think about what is happening to me,” Schippers said Friday after winning her first world title and adding it to her 100-metre silver to become one of the world’s top sprinters a year ahead of the Olympics.

After clawing back in a race and winning with a dip to the line, the 23-year-old Schippers fell to the track, holding her hand to her head in disbelief.

Schippers finished in 21.63 — a championship and European record — just edging out Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown.

Only two women have run faster than Schippers over 200 metres, and only one of them did it at sea level. The late Florence Griffith-Joyner ran 21.56 and 21.34 at the 1988 Olympics, while Marion Jones ran 21.62 at altitude in South Africa in 1998.