Persistence paid dividends for Jamaica’s Anneisha McLaughlin, a ‘veteran’ of the 2001 World Youth Championships, as she finally delivered her promise by landing a first global championship title.
The 17-year-old, who had made a sluggish start in her semi-final was out of the blocks quickly in the final and held a two metre lead coming into the home straight.
With her bustling sprinting style the Jamaican was to extend her lead to a clear five metres by the finish line recording a speedy 23.26 into a stiff headwind.
McLaughlin won a bronze medal at the last World Youth Championships in Hungary at the 400m distance and last year in front of her fanatical home fans in the World Junior Championships she missed a gold medal by one hundredth of a second in the 200m.
But in the University of Sherbrooke Stadium McLaughlin would not be denied and she ended America’s 100 percent gold medal winning record in this event.
The United States this time had to settle for silver and bronze as Courtney Champion, the fastest qualifier into the final ran 23.56 and Cleo Tyson 23.67.
Jamaica’s Sherline Duncan sprinted to a personal best of 23.80 for fourth and Australia’s Sally McLellan, who had won 100m hurdle gold only 40 minutes earlier had to settle for fifth in 24.01. The youngest girl in the field, 15-year-old Carley Wenham of Great Britain placed sixth in 24.18 from the outside lane.
