MOSCOW, Russia – For the second time in her career, former Lady Tiger NCAA champion Nickiesha Wilson will line up in the final of the women’s 400-meter hurdles at the IAAF World Championship in Athletics after matching her 2013 seasonal best of 54.94 seconds for the eighth-fastest time in Tuesday’s semifinal round at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
Wilson, who previous ran 54.94 in a third-place finish at the Jamaican National Senior Championships in June, matched her seasonal best to take fifth place in the first semifinal heat to grab the eighth and final spot into the championship final. She will return to action on Thursday at 11:45 a.m. CT to run the final of the women’s 400 hurdles.
Wilson followed the Czech Republic’s Zuzana Hejnova (53.52), USA’s Dalilah Muhammad (54.08), Great Britain’s Eilidh Child (54.32) and Ukraine’s Anna Yaroshchuk (54.92) across the finish line in the first heat.
Rounding out the finalists were the top three finishers in the second heat with Great Britain’s Perri Shakes-Drayton (53.92), USA’s Lashinda Demus (54.22) and Ukraine’s Anna Titimets (54.63) qualifying automatically.
Wilson, the 2008 NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles, has advanced to the World Championships final for the first time since her debut appearance in 2007 when she nearly captured a place on the medal stand in a fourth-place finish when the championship was held in Osaka, Japan. That was the season in which Wilson set her lifetime personal best and school record of 53.97 in the World Championships semifinals.
Former LSU teammate Isa Phillips saw his run to the final come up short in the semifinal round of the men’s 400-meter hurdles when he ran the 13th-fastest time of the day with a seasonal best of 49.28 for fifth place in the first heat. Three heats were contested in the men’s semifinals with the top two in each heat and those with the next two fastest times advancing to the final.
The action continues for LSU’s contingent during Wednesday’s morning session as reigning NCAA Outdoor champion Damar Forbes takes flight in the qualifying round of the men’s long jump beginning at 1:25 a.m. CT.
Time Schedule for LSU Entries at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics
Note: Times are Central and subject to change based on round-by-round qualifying
Wednesday, August 14
TV Coverage: LIVE on Universal Sports (11:30 p.m.-3 a.m. CT)
1:25 a.m. – Men’s Long Jump Qualification (Damar Forbes)
Thursday, August 15
TV Coverage: LIVE on Universal Sports (12:30-3 a.m. CT); LIVE on Universal Sports (10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT)
12:55 a.m. – Women’s 800 Meters Heats (Natoya Goule)
1:55 a.m. – Women’s 200 Meters Heats (Kimberlyn Duncan)
10:45 a.m. – Women’s 200 Meters Semifinals (Kimberlyn Duncan)
11:45 a.m. – Women’s 400 Hurdles Final (Nickiesha Wilson)
Friday, August 16
TV Coverage: LIVE on Universal Sports (12:30-3 a.m. CT); LIVE on Universal Sports (10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT)
2:30 a.m. – Women’s 4×400 Relay Heats (Rebecca Alexander)
10:30 a.m. – Men’s Long Jump Final (Damar Forbes)
11:15 a.m. – Women’s 800 Meters Semifinals (Natoya Goule)
12:15 p.m. – Women’s 200 Meters Final (Kimberlyn Duncan)
Saturday, August 17
TV Coverage: LIVE on NBC (11-11:30 a.m. CT); TAPE-DELAY on NBC (1:30-3 p.m. CT); TAPE-DELAY on Universal Sports (8-9:30 p.m. CT)
10:30 a.m. – Women’s 4×400 Relay Final (Rebecca Alexander)
Sunday, August 18
TV Coverage: TAPE-DELAY on NBC (1:30-3 p.m. CT); TAPE-DELAY on Universal Sports (6-7:30 p.m. CT)
7:50 a.m. – Men’s 4×100 Relay Heats (Richard Thompson)
8:50 a.m. – Women’s 800 Meters Final (Natoya Goule)
9:40 a.m. – Men’s 4×100 Relay Final (Richard Thompson)