Defying injury, Abakumova joins rare Javelin company
The finest women’s Javelin Throw competition ever capped a thoroughly entertaining Day Seven at the IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011.
Also qualifying with some ease this morning was Tiffany Porter in the women’s 100m hurdles heats. Porter dominated when winning her race, easing down across the line in 12.84secs, and lining up a spot in Saturday night’s semi final stages.
Australian Sally Pearson led qualifying with 12.53 – a fifth of a second faster than any other athlete, but Porter was happy that fast times would come later in the day:
“It was pretty comfortable and I'm excited for the semi-finals. Times don't really matter at this point, it’s all about qualifying for the next round and I'm just happy that I did that,” she said.
The women’s 4x400m relay team qualified for Saturday evening’s final with relative ease in 3:23.05. The team of Christine Ohuruogu (Lloyd Cowan), Nicola Sanders (Tony Lester), Lee McConnell (Rodger Harkins) and Perri Shakes Drayton (Chris Zah) finished second behind the Jamaican team and will line up for Saturday’s final as third fastest overall.
With both Ohuruogu and Sanders running solid legs (51.6 and 51.3 secs) to position GB in a safe second – albeit detached from the Jamaican squad - Lee McConnell blasted around in 50.1 to put Perri Shakes Drayton within a few metres of a challenge for first place.
Shakes Drayton, running a swift 49.9 brought the team home in second but gave the distinct impression when speaking after that there was something left in the tank for the final.
“It was good, it went very well as a team. I’m impressed with the time and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” she said.
“I think the relay could be our time. It was a shame what happened in the hurdles but I’m over that now. Seeing the final yesterday made me even more hungry and determined so next time I will get in that final.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and we are capable of a medal.”
Ohuruogu added:
"That was good, it was nice to run!” she said.
"It's about trying to come together and work for the team because we definitely know we can win a medal here.
"It was my coach's decision to run the first leg, I'm pretty comfortable running first. I was the freshest pair of legs so just get me out, and see how I run because I haven't run yet. It was probably the safest place to put me."
