Torri Edwards versus Veronica Campbell. United States against Jamaica. It was meant to be the story of the 100m final. It didn’t quite happen like that on Monday night as Edwards slipped out of the frame, but the two rehearsed a re-run in first round of the 200m this morning when they were drawn together in the last heat.
Campbell began stage two of her quest to become the third woman to win the sprint double with another victory, although she and Edwards crossed the line virtually stride for stride. Campbell got the verdict in a relaxed 22.87, 0.03 ahead of her US rival.
The reigning champion Allyson Felix showed why she carries the favourite tag. Fastest in the world this year, Felix’s run was as easy as her smile and as graceful as her long stride, which brought her home first in heat one in 22.50, just 0.05 ahead of Susanthike Jayasinghe, the Sri Lankan who ran a season’s best.
That turned out to be the quickest of the round, although her teammate Sanya Richards was not far behind.
Last year’s world athlete of the year thanks to an unbeaten season over 400m, the Jamaican-born 22-year-old runs with a bullet-shaped pendant as a lucky charm. She didn’t need to be firing on all cylinders this morning to hit the target in heat five, which she won easily in 22.74.
In other heats, there were wins for USA’s LaShauntea Moore, a former World Youth Champion, in 22.93, Tezzhan Naimova of Bulgaria in 22.84, and Muriel Hurtis-Houairi of France in 22.83.
Belgium’s European champion Kim GevAert, Sri Lanka’s 1997 silver medallist Susanthike Jayasinghe, and Jamaica’s Olympic relay champion Aleen Bailey also qualified comfortably.
Other than that it was a largely uneventful morning for the half-lappers, the only minor drama coming in heat two when Britain’s Emily Freeman was disqualified for false starting.
That race also featured Somalia’s Abdikarim Sheikh Fowzio who had the tough task of running from lane seven with the likes of Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, the former Commonwealth Games double sprint champion, inside her. By the time Moore and Ferguson had finished, she was still working hard with 60m to go.
It was all worthwhile though. The 15-year-old was rewarded with a person best of 30.87.
Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb
