Razorback sprinters run second leg on trio of 4 x 400m relays
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Arkansas displayed its prowess in relays as Razorback sprinters raced on four different 4 x 400m relays during Saturday prelims with three advancing to the final on Sunday evening at the National Athletics Center.
Nickisha Pryce ran second leg for the Jamaican women, splitting 49.75, as they won the first heat in a world-leading time of 3:22.74 over Canada’s 3:23.29 with Netherlands third in 3:23.75.
“I passed the baton safely, just what the coach told me to do,” stated Pryce.
The second heat of the women’s relay featured a pair of Razorbacks racing against one another on the second leg. Amber Anning split 49.70 for the British relay while Rosey Effiong supplied a 49.60 leg for the Americans.
Great Britain won the heat in 3:23.33 while the United States (3:23.35) was disqualified for passing out of the zone on the final exchange. Belgium gained the runner-up spot in 3:23.63.
“Everything now is scratched, and we start again,” said Anning. “We have such a great chance now, but tomorrow is another day and we go again.”
Chris Bailey ran the third leg of the United States men’s squad and posted the fastest split among the Americans with a 44.31 carry. Winning the heat in 2:58.47 over India’s 2:59.05 advanced the U.S. to the final.
“We’ve been the dominant team in the world for so long now, but our goal is always to stay there,” noted Bailey. “Today we just wanted to make sure we’re there again tomorrow.”
A no-height in the decathlon pole vault halted the day for Ayden Owens-Delerme, missing his opening bar of 14-5.25 (4.40). The same fate befell Kyle Garland as he missed at 14-9 (4.50). The SEC rivals were in sixth and seventh place, respectively, after the discus, the seventh event in the decathlon.
Owens-Delerme started the second day of the decathlon with a 14.04 in the 110m hurdles for 969 points, moving into fourth place. Then a 144-11 (44.17) mark in the discus picked up 750 points as Owens-Delerme moved back two places in the overall scoring.
Gold and silver medals were awarded to Canadians Pierce LePage (8,909) and Damian Warner (8,804) while Grenada’s Lindon Victor snared the bronze medal with a national record of 8.756 points.