Jamaicans blazing at Worlds
BERLIN - First the sprints, now the hurdles.
The Jamaicans are taking over that, too, from the Americans.
Brigitte Foster-Hylton captured the 100-meter hurdles title yesterday, giving the island nation its first gold in the event at the World Championships. Delloreen Ennis-London also won the bronze for Jamaica.
"We're doing very good and we're happy," Ennis-London said.
The Americans, who already have lost two sprint races to Jamaica, were counting on gold. Instead, they ran into obstacles.
Ginnie Powell smashed a middle hurdle and finished sixth, and Olympic champion Dawn Harper clipped the second hurdle and took seventh.
Not exactly how they envisioned this playing out.
"I'm kind of ready to jump out of my skin," Harper said. "I'm trying to remain calm."
Powell knows the feeling.
"It's kind of sad, a letdown day," she said. "Two of America's best hurdlers couldn't medal."
On a bright note, 35-year-old Jennifer Rhines, who starred at Villanova, qualified for Saturday's 5,000-meter final.
Rhines, a three-time Olympian, finished her preliminary race in 15 minutes, 20.2 seconds.
But overall, the Jamaicans have dominated.
Today, Usain Bolt will try for his second world record in the final of the 200.
He obliterated his world-record mark in the 100 on Sunday, blazing through the line in 9.58 seconds.
Shawn Crawford thinks he might have a way to neutralize Bolt's burst - trip him.
Of course the American was only kidding, right?
"The cameras make it hard to do that," Crawford said.
Bolt looked invulnerable in his semifinal heat of the 200, ambling down the track in 20.08 seconds.
And that was in easy mode.
In the final, he'll crank it up to serious mode.
Bolt's world record in the 200 stands at 19.30, a barrier that Crawford fully expects him to break in the finals.
"I really think 19.28, that's what I think," Crawford said. "My goal is to run 19.51, I'll be happy with that."
That almost sounds like an admission of defeat.
But this is Bolt. And with his 23rd birthday tomorrow, he might just give himself an early gift.
Still, he's already downplaying his chances.
"I have really not done the same amount of work like I did for the 100," Bolt said.
As he weaved his way out of the interview area below the Olympic Stadium stands, Bolt carried his yam-colored Pumas in his hands.
His shoes were entitled to a little rest. He's been wearing them out by racing seven times in 5 days.
"I know Usain Bolt is an animal," said Wallace Spearmon, who finished the semifinals with the second-best time at 20.14 seconds. "I'm going to have to have the best race of my life to try to beat him in the finals."
Word that Crawford is predicting a time of 19.28 made Spearmon's eyes go wide in alarm.
"If they run [19.28] they can have it," Spearmon said.
In the 400 meters, Americans Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt cruised into the finals by winning their heats. Merritt even sent a little message to the field by finishing in 44.37 seconds, the top time in the world this season.
Merritt knocked off Wariner at the Beijing Olympics. Now, he's after Wariner's world championship crown.
"I wanted to come out today and set the bar, set the tone, finish up good," said Merritt, who has a day to rest before tomorrow's final. "I didn't run it as hard as I could. I'm saving a little bit for [tomorrow], of course."
