BEIJING, China, Sporting Alert – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce leads all qualifiers heading into the final of the women’s 100m at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, on Monday.
The reigning champion flashed to a well relaxed 10.82 seconds to win semi-final one and earned her place in the gold medal race.
Fraser-Pryce got away to another quick start and build a comfortable lead before shutting things down in the second part of the race to win easily over Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare, who posted 10.89 secs for second.
Another gold medal contender, Tori Bowie of the United States, took the second semi-finals in 10.87 secs and she too looks like she still had something left in reserve for the final.
Bowie got home ahead of Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago who ran 10.90, with the fast finishing Jamaican, Natasha Morrison running a personal best of 10.96 for third place and a spot in the final.
Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands continued her outstanding form this season by setting another personal best and national record of 10.83 secs to win the third and final semi-final heat.
Schippers, who decided to step away from the multi-event to concentrate on the sprints, seems to have made the correct decision, as she sent a very strong message to the likes of Bowie and Fraser-Pryce with her heat winning performance and lifetime best.
Jamaican veteran Veronica Campbell-Brown ran a seasonal best of 10.89 secs for second place to Schippers, with Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye taking third in 10.97 and qualified as one of the fastest losers.
Reigning world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast just missed the final after taking fourth in that semis in 10.98.
It was also a disappointing performance from English Gardner of the United States who ran 11.13 for sixth in her semi-final and failed to make the final.
The final of the event will be later on Monday night, Beijing time.
Leave a Reply