DAEGU, South Korea – With the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics off and running at Daegu Stadium, the first day of competition proved successful for the LSU track and field program with a total of four sprinters earning a spot in the semifinals during Saturday’s action.
Olympic silver medalist Richard Thompson was the first to step onto the track in Saturday’s prelim round of the men’s 100-meter dash, and the Trinidad & Tobago native cruised into the semifinals by taking third place in the first of seven qualifying heats with his time of 10.34 seconds (-1.7).
Thompson, who secured a fifth-place finish in his 100 meters debut at the World Championships in 2009, drew lane No. 7 in the second of three semifinal heats set to begin Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m. CDT.
Also competing in the qualifying round of the men’s 100-meter dash on Saturday was LSU senior Gabriel Mvumvure of Zimbabwe, who finished in sixth place in the third heat and 43rd place overall with his time of 10.63 that was run into a strong headwind of 1.0 meters per second.
Two of Thompson’s compatriots also earned a spot in the semifinal round of the women’s 100-meter dash with their performance as Lady Tiger alum Kelly-Ann Baptiste and junior Semoy Hackett each recorded a time of 11.27 in qualifying action. Baptiste cruised to victory in the fourth qualifier, while Hackett earned a fourth-place finish in the second preliminary heat to finish as the fastest timed qualifier.
Three heats of the semifinal round of the women’s 100-meter dash are scheduled to race Monday morning beginning at 5:30 a.m. CDT at Daegu Stadium in South Korea.
Junior All-American Riker Hylton enjoyed a successful debut at the World Championship on Saturday as the Jamaican standout advanced to the semifinal round of the men’s 400-meter dash.
The Jamaican 400-meter champion opened the event with a 45.54 clocking to cross the finish line for fifth place in the first of five qualifying heats to earn a spot in the semifinal round scheduled to run on Monday morning at 6 a.m. CDT. Hylton was the second-fastest timed qualifier of the prelim round with the No. 21 time of the opening day of the 400-meter competition.