RECORD WIN FOR FRASER-PRYCE
WINS THIRD 100M GOLD AT WORLDS
BEIJING: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce underlined her status as Queen of the Sprints with an unprecedented third world championship 100 metres title at the Bird’s Nest stadium on Monday.
With her long, dyed green braids flowing behind her, the diminutive Jamaican was not quickest out of the blocks but soon got into her stride and powered down the track in 10.76 seconds to add to her titles in Berlin in 2009 and Moscow two years ago.
Back at the same arena where she won the first of her two Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Games, Fraser-Pryce locked up a fifth title in the last six major championships in the blue riband sprint.
“I will always work hard and do my best,” she said. “When I ran the heats, I remembered back at the 2008 Olympic Games when I was a 21-year-old.
“I expected nothing then. And I came out here again tonight and won a gold medal. I am really excited.”
SCHIPPERS MAKES MARK
For mer heptathlete Dafne Schippers almost caught FraserPryce with a brilliant finish but was more than satisfied with her second Dutch national record of the night in 10.81 for second place.
The first European to win a medal in the 100 metres at a world championships since France’s Christine Arron in 2005, Schippers was delighted to secure silver in her first season after giving up the multidiscipline event to focus on the sprints.
“It’s a national record, I’m second in the world, it’s crazy,” the 23-year-old, who won world heptathlon bronze in 2013, said.
“It’s good for the country and good for Europe. I was a little bit nervous in the semi-finals and after that I think, Okay, I’m in the final, anything is possible. My start was good, I thought I was close enough to medal. Wow,” the Dutchwoman said.
Like Schippers, American Tori Bowie has not long turned her focus to the sprints after being predominantly a long jumper and she claimed bronze in 10.86 ahead of 2007 world champion Veronica CampbellBrown (10.91).
‘TIRED OF 10.7s’
Fraser-Pryce’s time was the second fastest of the year after her own 10.74 in Paris last month but she was not satisfied.
“I get tired of 10.7s,” the 28-year-old said. “I just wanted to put a great race together. I want a 10.6 something. Hopefully in my next race I’ll get it together. I just work hard and focus on executing.”
Schippers will also compete in the 200 metres but Fraser-Pryce confirmed she would not defend her world title in the longer sprint, despite being named on the Jamaica team for the event.
“I am not considering the 200m, the plan has only been to only run in the 100m,” she said.
KEMBOI’S FOURTH TITLE
Ezekiel Kemboi underlined his status as one of the great Kenyan athletes by capturing the world championship 3,000 metres steeplechase crown for a record fourth time on Monday.
The 33-year-old seized the gold medal thanks to a devastating sub 57-second last-lap burst at the Bird’s Nest Stadium.
Kenya secured their first clean sweep in the event for eight years but the anticipated challenge from Evan Jager faded on the final lap as the American was unable to match the speed of the Africans and trailed home sixth.