Eilidh Child can still covet a 400 metres hurdles medal from the 2015 World Championships but the Scot so nearly saw desire turn into disaster before securing a place in tomorrow’s final in Beijing.
All season long, the slightest of technical twitches have given the European champion cause for concern. And in deciding to throw caution to the wind, she was almost blown out of contention in the semi-final round.
Leading into the home straight, the 28-year-old was passed by the American Cassandra Tate but undue hesitancy into the penultimate hurdle gave South Africa’s Wenda Nel an opportunity she gleefully grasped. Squeezed into third in a time of 54.80 seconds, Child felt she was “a goner”. Waiting and hoping for 15 minutes, she eventually received a stay of execution.
“It’s the worst way to qualify for a final – to be in the first semi-final, and be in the fastest loser’s spot and just having to sit and watch the other races,” she admitted. “Wenda didn’t run well. My hurdling looked really messy – I clipped one.
"The pair of us were trying to fight for it and it got a bit scrappy. Thankfully it’s enough to get into the final. I’m going to have be a rubbish lane but I’d rather be in a rubbish lane in the final then not be in it at all.”
Meghan Beesley was third in her semi but sat below the cut. Now Child and her coach Malcolm Arnold must review their tactical approach for a final that will feature her habitual rivals Kaliese Spencer and Zuzana Hejnova. “I just got a bit closer to the hurdles than I normally do,” Child confirmed. “I did have a debate with my coach before hand on whether to just go for it and try and be a bit riskier or hold back and be safe. I just went for it. It was maybe the wrong thing to do in the semi-final.”
With flowers in her hair and the wind in her sails, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took her seventh world gold in the 100 metres final in 10.76 secs but had to fend off a belated assault from Dafne Schippers. But for a ponderous start, the reigning world and Olympic champion would have surely been powered down by the Dutch dynamo who was closing with every step before setting a Netherlands record of 10.81 with the USA’s Tori Bowie third.
“When I ran the heats, I remembered when back in 2008 at the Olympic Games I was 21 years old,” Fraser-Pryce revealed. “I expected nothing then, and I came out here again tonight with a gold medal. Every championship is different.”
Kenya’s Vivian Cheriuyot claimed her third 10,000m crown while there was a shock in the pole vault as world record holder Renaud Lavillenie was relegated to a share of bronze after the Frenchman had three failures at 5.90m with Canada’s Shawn Barber landing gold.
London 2012 winner Greg Rutherford leapt 8.25m to breeze into the long jump final and defending champion Christine Ohuruogu joined Anyika Onuora in today’s 400m semis. While Rabah Yousif lowered his personal best to 44.54 seconds to reach tomorrow’s 400m finale with GB&NI team captain Martyn Rooney, whose wife was due to give birth yesterday, taking his leave.
“I’m absolutely flying in training at the moment,” Yousif, who originally arrived in the UK from Sudan as an asylum seeker, said. “I am happy, but I am not if you know what I mean? I’m going to declare war now. I’m going to chase after the medal.”
Laura Muir claims she will feel little pressure when she pursues a medal in today’s 1500m final. The 22-year-old from Perthshire goes into the showdown ranked fifth but all the heat is on recent world record breaker Genzebe Dibaba. “If I run the best race I can in the final, I’ll be pleased.” Muir said. “But we’ll need to see where that leaves me.”
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