DAEGU, South Korea – While former Tiger star Richard Thompson saw his medal hopes dashed in the semifinal round of the 100-meter dash during Sunday’s action at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, fellow LSU alums Isa Phillips and Nickiesha Wilson saw their run continue after earning a spot in the semifinal round of the 400-meter hurdles at Daegu Stadium.
Thompson lined up in the second of three semifinal heats of the men’s 100-meter dash on Sunday with an eye on a third-straight finals appearance in major international competition.
A native of Trinidad & Tobago, Thompson claimed a silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, before earning a fifth-place finish at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
But Thompson, who entered the competition with a personal best and 2011 seasonal best of 9.85 seconds, came up short in his bid for yet another finals appearance after taking third place in his heat and 10th place overall with his time of 10.20 run into a strong headwind of 1.0 meters per second. Thompson crossed the finish line behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (10.05) and France’s Christophe Lemaitre (10.11) in his heat.
While falling short of the medal podium in the 100-meter dash, Thompson will return to action on Sept. 4 as he anchors Trinidad’s 4×100-meter relay team in the qualifying heats on the final day of competition at this year’s meet. It’s an event in which Thompson led his country to a silver medal in 2008 and 2009.
Sunday’s action at Daegu Stadium also featured the qualifying heats in the men’s and women’s 400-meter hurdles as both Phillips and Wilson advanced to the semifinal round for Jamaica.
Phillips qualified with a 2011 seasonal best as he took second place in the second qualifying heat with his time of 48.64 that finished second to only the 2011 world leader L.J. van Zyl of South Africa (48.58). It is a performance that also ranked Phillips as the fourth-fastest semifinal qualifier of the day. Phillips is set to line up in the semifinal round on Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. CDT.
Wilson was also an automatic qualifier into the semifinal round of the women’s 400 hurdles after taking a fourth-place finish in the third qualifying heat with her opening time of 56.08. The semifinal round for the women’s 400-meter hurdles is also scheduled to run Tuesday beginning at 5 a.m. CDT.