World Junior Champs: Michael O’Hara on track for medal in 200m at the IAAF World Junior Championships after easily winning his semi-final heat in a new personal best 20.45 seconds

Michael O'Hara

PAUL A REID Observer Writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, July 25, 2014 | 1:34 AM    

EUGENE, USA -- Michael O’Hara stayed on course to be the third Jamaican man to win a medal in the 200m at the IAAF World Junior Championships after easily winning his semi-final heat in a new personal best 20.45 seconds (1.4m/s) Thursday evening on the third day of the Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The final is set for Friday evening.

O’Hara beat Nigeria’s Ejowvokohene Divine Odudru (20.66) seconds and Cuba’s Reynier Mena, a bronze medalist behind O’Hara at last year’s World Youth Championships where the Jamaican struck gold.

It was the end of the road for the other Jamaican Jevaughn Minzie after he ran 20.77 seconds for fifth place in his semi-final won by Great Britain’s Thomas Somers- 20.37 seconds (1.9m/s) and Anguilla’s Zharnel Hughes- 20.38 seconds, both of whom also advanced to the final.

Meanwhile, both Jamaican women’s 400m runners Tifanny James and Yanique McNeil failed to make it to Friday’s finals; James was a gallant third in her semi-final in 54.06 seconds while McNeil who advanced as one of the fastest losers on Wednesday, was sixth in 54.98 seconds in her heat. Source Jamaica Observer