With perhaps her strongest homestretch performance of the season, Lashinda Demus capped her first full international season with a commanding 53.37 win in the 400 metres Hurdles.
It was the tenth win in 13 competitions this season for the 22-year-old American champion and Helsinki World silver medallist, who comfortably held off World champion Yuliya Pechonkina (53.80) and Sandra Glover (54.09), the winner of the previous two editions.
“Not too bad for the end of the season,” Demus said of her performance, her third fastest of the year, behind only her 53.27 personal best in Helsinki and her 53.35 at the U.S. championships.
Pushing the pace from the outset, Demus and Pechonkina, who followed up her Helsinki victory with another win over the American in Zurich, were nearly even through the first three hurdles, before Demus forged a slight lead midway down the backstretch. Glover joined the duo heading into the final straight, but was no match for her younger compatriot.
Anna Jesien, Poland’s European Cup winner and the fourth place finisher at the World championships, equaled her Helsinki finish here, but well back in 55.22. Andrea Blackett of Barbados, sixth in Helsinki, was fifth here, reaching the line in 55.25.
BR
