Sprinters and Jumpers Forge Ahead in Bydgoszcz

July 8, 2008 from USATF press release (Bydgoszcz, Poland) American sprinters and jumpers fared very well in the morning session of the opening day at the 12th edition of the World Junior Championships. Both entrants in the 100 and 400 for the men and women moved on to the next round while a pair of men's long jumpers qualified for the final. Texas A&M's Jessica Beard won her heat of the women's 400 in 53.65 seconds for the second fastest time in qualifying. Zambia's Rachael Nachula posted a leading mark of 52.65 while current world junior leader Shade Abugan of Nigeria had the third best effort at 53.71.

Lanie Whittaker (Miami, Florida), who finished second in her heat with a time of 54.74, used the race as a confidence builder and is already looking forward to the next round of competition.

The U.S. men's 400 entrants used their opening round to shake off a bit of rust from the long travel the squad had in reaching the World Junior site. O'Neal Wilder of Mississippi State won his heat in 46.82, the second fastest mark of the round, while Baylor's Marcus Boyd posted a 47.56 winning mark. Wilder's time only trailed a 46.53 by Kirani James of Grenada.

In the women's 100, both Jenaba Tarmoh (San Jose, California) and South Carolina's Shayla Mahan were heat winners with times that ranked among the top five for the opening round. Tarmoh clocked 11.56 for the second fastest time of the morning session behind an 11.55 from Ashlee Nelson of Great Britain. Mahan posted an 11.61 for the fourth best mark.

Another pair of SEC sprinters dominated the men's 100 field as Florida's Terrell Wilks produced the overall leading time with a 10.28 winning mark. South Carolina's Antonio Sales won the first heat in 10.49, which was third fastest overall.

Americans produced the second and third best marks in long jump qualifying with the tandem of Christian Taylor (Atlanta, Georgia) and Marquis Goodwin (Rowlett, Texas). They only trailed a 7.77m/25-6 effort from Spain's Eusebio Caceres as Taylor produced a mark of 7.58m/25-2.5 and Goodwin opened with a 7.60m/24-11.25.

Rebecca Wade of Rice established a personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, but her time of 10:24.14 left her just outside of the last mark (10:23.88) needed to qualify on time. She finished ninth in her heat and 13th overall as 12 went to the final. Elizabeth Graney (Harper Woods, Michigan) placed sixth in the second heat with a 10:37.96 and finished 16th overall.

Qualifying rounds in the throwing events eliminated six U.S. entrants from the field. In the shot put, Daniel Block (Hanover Park, Illinois) finished 14th overall with 12 advancing to the final as his 18.38m/60-3.75 was just short of the last qualifying mark of 18.58m/60-10.75. Eric Plummer of Princeton had a toss of 18.29m/60-0.25 to place 18th overall.

Brian Bishop of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville reached a distance of 51.22m/168-0 in the discus while Geoffrey Tabor (Ardmore, Oklahoma) managed 49.22m/161-6. In the women's hammer D'Ana McCarty of Louisville hit a mark of 53.97m/177-0 while three fouls derailed Lauren Chambers (Acworth, Georgia).

Quotes

Rebecca Wade, 3,000-meter steeplechase

"This has been the most amazing experience. Seeing all these amazing athletes from other countries and getting coached by new coaches. Plus I'm meeting new people on the U.S. team.

"It was a good race. I'm a little disappointed I didn't catch some of the girls ahead of me at the end. I'm happy with my time since it's a personal best.

"Coach (Patrick) Shane talked about going out a little conservative early on to let the anxious and excited girls to take it out early. Then halfway through I started to pick up my pace and move up the field. Running on this level has been really exciting."

Lanie Whittacker, 400 meters

"Now that I'm here on the track it's exciting, because I was ready to run. When I first got here over the weekend I was kind of scared and I missed being home. This is a new environment, a new place and a new track so I was ready to run.

"Now I know I can push myself more in trying to advance to the next round and reach the final. I want to reach the final so I can take it back to Florida.

Jessica Beard, 400 meters

"I felt like I got out the blocks well. While I wish I would have run faster I was hoping someone would be in my race to push me more so I could have a stronger finish. I kind of shut down early instead. I won my heat so I know I'll get a decent lane in the next round.

"In the semifinals I'll have to run faster and I intend to. I want to win my heat again and get the best lane there is for the final.

O'Neal Wilder, 400 meters

"It's a hard adjustment since it's so early back home at this time of day. Some of us are still getting used to the time zone difference.

"I just wanted to finish first in the opening round. I got the lead early and was able to keep it.

Marcus Boyd, 400 meters

"Things went okay, although I'm still a bit tired from the plane ride and being in a different time zone. I just wanted to get the first run out of the way. Now I need to get ready for tomorrow.

"It's nice to see people from so many different countries. It's almost like a feeling of being at the Olympics.

Jenaba Tarmoh, 100 meters

"I feel like I've been practicing really well, so it hasn't felt like that much of a break from the U.S. Junior meet. It's been different being in Europe, but I actually like it. It reminds me of places with a lot of culture and tradition. I've really enjoyed it.

"I raced pretty relaxed in the first round. It was a decent race.

Shayla Mahan, 100 meters

"I wasn't really nervous, but I couldn't get my starts right during the warmup. I didn't want to really get out on my start in case it wasn't right. Waiting around for the last heat was okay, it just gave me extra time to think about it.

"Running in the SEC this season at South Carolina really prepares you for a meet like this. I'm looking forward to the second round, I know I have to stay calm and get out.

Antonio Sales, 100 meters

"I ran about the time I wanted to run in the opening round. I wanted to work on my drive phase and get out well enough so I could shut it down at the end since we have two rounds today.

"Mainly I wanted to see how my legs felt since we had such a long flight to get over here.

"It's a good thing to know about your competition, but at the same time I can only control me so I just have to stay on my race and do what I prepared myself to do."

Terrell Wilks, 100 meters

"I wanted to dominate from the very first round. I wanted to get out and see what the field was looking like and go with it. I know I had to win it.

"Running in lane one in the first round motivated me a bit, but coach told me it's the 100 so the lane doesn't really matter.

"It was hard getting back on form today after the break we've had. But the days we've trained while here have helped a lot. I'm good now and ready to go.

Christian Taylor, Long Jump

"My steps were good for the qualifying round, it's a fast surface. It's also has a good spring to it. I was happy with performance, the first round jump was my best opener ever. I was real pumped after that.

"I tried to stay consistent throughout my series, but my second jump threw me off a bit. Then I finished strong with my best jump of the day. I'm pleased with being the second best jumper out of qualifying.

"I have a bit of an advantage dealing with the qualifying round since I was on the World Youth team last year. It allowed me to be a little more comfortable and relaxed.

"Tomorrow I'm ready to bring it in the final and hopefully I can win. I know what I need to do."

Marquis Goodwin, Long Jump

"I knew I could have done better in this round, but my mark was moved around and I didn't realize that was happening at the time. My mark was real inconsistent as a result.

"After the competition I went back to mark it and make sure it would be okay for the final. Usually I'm consistent on the board, but that wasn't the case today. It will be fixed for the final.

"Today wasn't that big of a concern, we know we have the final tomorrow. That is what I need to prepare for the most. I hit a mark in the first round that I knew would qualify. I'm in for the final and I'm ready to come back and win it.

"We have the potential to go 1-2 in the final and, of course, I would like to be the winner. I'm focused on being in the top three, but I'm also going after the win, so we'll see what happens."

For more information on the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships,visit www.usatf.org .