TOKYO, Japan – It’s on to the final of the women’s 200 meters (m) for Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo at the Tokyo Olympic Games here in Tokyo, Japan, while fellow Bahamian Anthonique Strachan just missed out.
Miller-Uibo looked relaxed, finishing second in her semifinal heat in 22.14 seconds and qualifying for the final with the sixth-fastest time. Marie Josée Ta Lou, of the Ivory Coast, got out quickly in Miller-Uibo’s semifinal heat and held on to win that race in 22.11 seconds.
The other Bahamian in the women’s 200m semis, Strachan, was third in her heat and finished 11th overall in a season’s best time of 22.56 seconds. It was her fastest time in seven seasons – ever since she ran 22.54 seconds at the Paris Meeting Areva Diamond League meet in Paris, France, in 2014.
Miller-Uibo, 27, looked comfortable, potentially saving her energy for the amount of races she will compete in over the next two to three days. She has the first round of the women’s 400m and the final of the women’s 200m today – the former already completed by the time this article is read.
“I’m very happy with it. The main thing was just to make it through the rounds as safely as possible and I was able to do that,” said Miller-Uibo when passing through the mixed zone of the Japan National Stadium on Monday. “I’m looking forward to the final tomorrow night. Tomorrow is the final and I’m just going to bring it all to the track.”
Jamaican 100m winner here in Tokyo Elaine Thompson-Herah, also the double sprint Olympic Champion from five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, looked flawless in the 200m semifinals on Monday, easily winning her heat from lane nine in a personal best time of 21.66 seconds.
Christine Mboma, the 18-year-old from Nigeria who was forced to pull out of the 400m due to a high testosterone level, was the second fastest qualifier for the women’s 200m final, running a world under-20 and area record of 21.97 seconds in the semis.
World Athletics (WA) implemented a rule in 2018, stating that female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels would be banned from running races 400 meters or longer in athletics until they take a medically-prescribed drug, or have surgical operations, to bring their natural testosterone levels down. A couple of athletes in the women’s 200m final, both 18-year-olds from Namibia, are affected – so is another athlete who finished ahead of Strachan – Aminatou Seyni, of Niger, who ran a national record of 22.54 seconds in her semifinal heat and finished 10th overall.
American Gabrielle Thomas was the third-fastest qualifier for the final, running 22.01 seconds in her semifinal heat.
Miller-Uibo, who ran out of lane five in the third of three semifinal heats, maintained pace with Ta Lou on the curve, trailing by just a couple strides and crept up on her on the home stretch. Ta Lou was just able to hold on for the win. Miller-Uibo qualified out of her first round heat in 22.40 seconds, again finishing second to Ta Lou.
Running out of lane five in the first semifinal heat, Strachan got behind race favorite Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, of Jamaica early and tried to make up ground on the home stretch but was too far behind. She ended up third in that semifinal heat in 22.56 seconds. Strachan qualified out of the first round in 22.76 seconds.
“I feel really good. I know where I messed up, it was the start. I got distracted by the long hold and that cost me a bit. It’s my fault. I did too much thinking instead of doing. I wasn’t there like I should have been,” said 27-year-old Strachan. “All-in-all I’m really happy with it. I can’t complain. The season has been long. It was a two-year season because of COVID and there’s still a pandemic going on. I’m really happy and excited. I know that the condition that I am in right now – the mind space and the physical space – I feel like I am where I need to be.
“I wake up every morning and I be like, ‘you got this, you work hard for this, no one could take this from you’. The more I tell myself that, I believe that. The minute someone tries to jeopardize that, I go into attack mode because I’m not going to let someone infiltrate that thought process. I’m just happy with what I was able to do here in Tokyo, considering the circumstances and I’m looking forward to 2022.”
As for Miller-Uibo, she will run in the final at 9:50 p.m. Tuesday night in Tokyo, 8:50 a.m. Tuesday morning in The Bahamas. She has her work cut out for her as she will be all the way out in lane nine.
The race features Jamaicans Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce, Namibians Mbomo and Beatrice Masilingi – the two 18-year-olds with high testosterone levels – Miller-Uibo, Thomas, Ta Lou and Mujinga Kambundji, of Switzerland, who ran a national record of 22.26 seconds in the semifinals.
As mentioned, Miller-Uibo is out on an island by herself in lane nine in the final of what is regarded as the most anticipated race of the athletics portion of the Olympics.
It’s about to go down!
The post Miller-Uibo advances to 200m final; Strachan finishes 11th appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/miller-uibo-advances-to-200m-final-strachan-finishes-11th/
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