Emmanuel on historic run for Canada
Toronto sprinter first woman to reach 200-metre final at worlds since Angela Bailey in 1983
LONDON — Crystal Emmanuel looked fierce, like a fired-up boxer about to climb into the ring.
Then she raced into the women’s 200-metre final at the world track and field championships, a place no Canadian woman has gone in 33 years.
The 25-year-old from Toronto ran 22.85 seconds to finish third in her semifinal and clinch a spot in Friday’s final — a first for a Canadian woman in the distance since Angela Bailey in 1983.
When the television camera panned the field for her 200-metre semifinal, it caught the Canadian talking to herself. She was repeating her mantra: “Beast. Just me.”
“I looked down the track and all I saw was ‘beast,’ and that was me,” Emmanuel said.
It was a night that might have belonged to Andre De Grasse. Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev won gold in a men’s 200-metre final missing the Canadian star, who pulled out before the meet with a torn hamstring. Canadian teammate Aaron Brown was disqualified in the 200 heats for stepping on the line.
Guliyev’s win was the biggest upset of the event, beating South African favourite Wayde van Niekerk.
Guliyev held on in the finishing straight to win in 20.09 seconds, .02 seconds ahead of Van Niekerk. Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago took bronze with the same time as the South African.
Isaac Makwala of Botswana finished sixth.
Led by Emmanuel, three Canadian women wrote the story Thursday at London Stadium.
World silver medallist Melissa Bishop survived a scare to advance to the semifinals of the 800 metres. The 29-year-old from Eganville, Ont., was clipped from behind and nearly fell — the shock registering on her face. She went on to finish second in two minutes 1.11 seconds.
“Really scary. I felt like I was going down on my knees, but I caught it,” Bishop said of the stumble that happened 300 metres into the race. “But that’s 800-metre racing, there are eight of us in one lane, it’s messy, it’s bumper cars.
Bishop credited American Brenda Martinez for reaching out a steadying arm as Bishop stumbled, averting what could have been a disaster not just for the Canadian but others in the race.
Bishop nearly stumbled again at the 400-metre mark when Spain’s Esther Guerrero cut her off.
“She cut in a lot sooner than she thought she was clear, I put my hand on her back to know that I was there,” said Bishop.
Clipped heels and thrown elbows are common in middle and long-distance races with runners jostling for position all in the same lane.
Bishop, who ran 1:57.01 to break her own Canadian record a couple of weeks ago in Monaco, said recovering for a near-calamity is more mental that physical.
Sage Watson of Medicine Hat, Alta., raced to sixth in her first major 400-metre hurdles final. American Kori Carter ran 53.07 to win gold.