BY SHERDON COWAN Observer staff reporter cowans@jamaicaobserver.com Tuesday, December 29, 2015
The Jamaican female quarter-milers have swayed the momentum in their favour after their scintillating performance denied the Americans gold in the 4x400m relay at the 15th IAAF World Championships.
The team of Shericka Jackson, Christine Day, Stephenie Ann McPherson, and Novlene Williams-Mills showed their prowess when they blazed the trail to claim the coveted gold medal in the Bird’s Nest in Beijing, China in August.
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| Jamaica’s Novlene Williams-Mills (2nd left) is embraced by a teary-eyed teammate Shericka Jackson after winning gold in the women’s 4X400m at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, in August. Sharing the joy are other members of the team Stephenie Ann McPherson (left) and Chtristine Day. |
In the individual quarter-mile gallop, The quartet had earlier in the individual quater-mile gallop, the quartet had finished third (jackson), fourth (day), fifth (McPherson) and sixth (Williams-Mills) before coming together to clock a world-leading 3:19.13 minutes to cross the line ahead of the American team.
The hype and anticipation of an exciting event was justified as the Jamaicans, who were slightly favoured due to their form in the individual event, reversed the results at the IAAF World Relays in May.The Americans now had to settle for second in 3:19.44 minutes, with Great Britain and Northern Ireland taking the bronze medal in 3:23.62 minutes.
The Jamaican women, running from lane six in the final, were led off by national champion Day, who ran a blistering leg to open up a near 15-metre lead on the Americans who had Sanya Richards-Ross on the first leg.
The 400m bronze medallist Jackson received the baton and she, too, ran a strong second leg to hand over in the lead ahead of Natasha Hastings.
McPherson, the 2014 Commonwealth champion, failed to maintain the lead and was left in the dust of the ever consistent Allyson Felix, who turned on the afterburners and made up a huge deficit with a split of 47.72 seconds, the third-fastest relay leg and the fastest ever seen at the IAAF World Championships to put the Americans back into the lead heading into the final change over.
However, her exploits was to prove in vain as Williams-Mills ran a shrewd final lap to overhaul a tiring Francena McCorory and win Jamaica’s third relay gold medal of the championships, and the seventh overall.
Williams-Mills, the 2014 Diamond Race winner, ran a fiercely executed final 10 metres of a exhilarating race to bear down on McCorory and then edged past to give Jamaica both women’s relay medals. more
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