LONDON, England – Former Lady Tiger great Kelly-Ann Baptiste opened Saturday’s competition at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics with a qualifying performance in the preliminary round of the women’s 100-meter dash as she advanced 16th overall to the semifinals to run Sunday at the London Stadium.
Baptiste, a four-time Olympian representing Trinidad & Tobago and the 2011 World Bronze Medalist in the event, advanced on time with a run of 11.21 seconds for fourth place in the sixth and final heat of the day. She qualified 16th overall among the 24 sprinters advancing to the semifinal round.
Baptiste is poised for a return to the 100-meter final at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics once again as the No. 6-ranked sprinter worldwide in 2017 with a seasonal-best time of 10.88 to her credit.
The top-two finishers in each of the three semifinal heats of the women’s 100-meter dash plus the next two fastest times will advance to the final to close out Sunday’s events at the London Stadium. The semifinal will run at 1:10 p.m. CT followed by the final in the last event of the day at 3:50 p.m. CT.
Saturday’s action at the London Stadium also saw former Tiger national champion Damar Forbes compete in the men’s long jump final at the World Championships for the second time in his career. Forbes posted a top mark of 25 feet, 11 ½ inches on his second attempt of the competition to finish 12th worldwide at this year’s meet.
Also a two-time Olympian as one of the world’s top long jumpers since winning the NCAA Outdoor title in 2013, Forbes placed eighth in his first finals appearance at the World Championships in Moscow in 2013.