TOKYO, Japan ‑ It didn’t go as planned, or as Bahamians would have liked, as Shaunae Miller-Uibo shut it down in the women’s 200 meters (m) today, finishing eighth in the Olympic final here in Tokyo, Japan.
The Bahamian superstar athlete said she felt her hamstring coming off the curve, and realizing that she still had two rounds of the 400m ahead of her, she decided not to take any chances. She eased up on the home stretch, crossing the finish line in 24 seconds flat.
Running out of lane nine, she knew that she had her work cut our for her. By the time she came off the curve, the rest of the field had already caught up to her, and even if she wasn’t bothered by the hamstring, it still would have been a tall task for her to come back in the race. She shut it down about midway on the homestretch.
Miller-Uibo is scheduled to run in the semifinals of the women’s 400m at the Japan National Stadium at the Tokyo Olympic Games today, and if she finishes in the top two in her semifinal heat, or is among the next two fastest times, she will move on to Friday’s final.
“Coming off the curve, I felt my hamstring so I decided to shut it down, but hopefully I’m good. I’m going to go back and get some treatment and we’ll go from there. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for tomorrow. The main thing is just making sure that we’re healthy and going from there,” she said.
It was a loaded final, and minus Miller-Uibo’s unfortunate circumstance, it lived up to its billing as four ladies went under 22 seconds.
Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah became the double sprint champion at the Olympics for the second straight Olympiad, running a blazing personal best national record of 21.53 seconds, becoming the second-fastest in history behind world record holder, the late Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States.
Namibian teenage sensation Christine Mboma, who is banned from races 400 meters or longer due to a high testosterone count, finished second in the 200m final last night, running a new world under-20 and area record of 21.81 seconds. She had initially set both records at 21.97 seconds in the semifinals.
American Gabrielle Thomas, who was the second-fastest in history prior to the race, settle for the bronze medal last night, running 21.87 seconds.
As for Miller-Uibo, she simply didn’t have it on Tuesday night, and is hopeful that she will still be able to give maximum effort in the 400m semis today. She ran in the heats of the women’s 400m earlier on Tuesday, and whereas she experienced some pain, she said she felt fine going into the 200m final last night.
“I just give God all the thanks and praise,” she said. “We’ve been going through a lot leading up to the games – a lot of injuries. Even up to this morning, I was in a lot of pain, but coming up to this evening, everything felt great.
“The injuries just got the better of me this year. We weren’t able to train as well for the 200 but we got in a lot of training for the 400, and once I feel okay in the morning, then we’ll be ready to go for the 400 semis.”
Miller-Uibo said the plan was always to do both the 200 and 400 meters at these Olympics and she’s content with the decision.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/shaunae-fades-to-eighth-in-200m-final/
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