Javier Culson of Puerto Rico in action in the 400m Hurdles semi-finals (© Getty Images)
Daegu, Korea - The USA were given a bloody nose after losing half of their four-strong contingent in the semi-finals while another of their team members only squeezed through as a fast loser.
For the world’s most prominent 400m Hurdles nation and seven-time gold medallists in this event it was a disappointment as they were hoping for better.
It was perhaps no total surprise that the defending champion Kerron Clement waved goodbye to his quest to secure a hat-trick of titles. The 2007 and 2009 champion has been out of sorts all season and wound up eighth in the second semi-final in a pedestrian 52.11.
US champion Jeshua Anderson was also eliminated. The former World Junior gold medallist was never in contention in the first semi-final and placed a disappointing fourth in 49.33.
With Clement and Anderson out it is also worth mentioning that two-time Olympic champion Angelo Taylor had his problems in heat one.
He set off aggressively – with the benefit of hindsight perhaps too aggressively – and powered through halfway with a clear advantage. As the race unravelled down the home straight it was Javier Culson, the 2009 silver medallist, who emerged as the main challenger. By the time of the final hurdle the Puerto Rican now led and the way he glided to the victory in 48.52 suggests he is capable of going one better than he did in Berlin. His time was also the fastest in all three semi-finals.
Taylor, meanwhile, was beginning to struggle and started to lose form and rhythm. Off the final hurdle Cornel Fredericks of South Africa surged past the two-time Olympic champion to grab the second automatic spot in 48.83 – 0.03 ahead of the American. He may have thought he would have to concede his bid to land a first World title was over but after a long wait he had done enough to secure one of the two fastest loser spots and will compete in Thursday’s Final.
Dai Greene looked a class apart in the second semi-final storming to victory in 48.62. The Briton trailed the fast-starting Isa Phillips of Jamaica for the first 150m before gradually establishing control of the race.
Such was his advantage coming off the last hurdle he had the audacity to look left then right at his non-existent challengers to cruise home. The two-time former champion Felix Sanchez drew upon his reserves and vast experience to shade Jehue Gordon by 0.07 to snatch second in 49.01. This means Sanchez of the Domincan Republic qualifies for a record breaking sixth straight World 400m Hurdles final. Gordon, 19, the fourth-place finisher in this event at the last IAAF World Championships of Trinidad & Tobago misses out. Clement was as previously mentioned out of the back of the field.
Bershawn Jackson (48.80) ran a ragged but ultimately effective race to take top spot in the third semi-final. The 2005 World champion from the USA clouted hurdle two and lost crucial momentum before appearing to run conservatively to halfway. At that stage both Great Britain’s Nathan Woodward and L.J Van Zyl of South Africa were prominent.
Jackson then put on the after burners for the third quarter of the race and came into the final straight with a clear lead. He stuttered badly coming into the final hurdle but held it together to cross first in 48.81 – the slowest winning time of the three semi-finals.
Van Zyl, the world leader, has not looked quite at his very best in Daegu and clung on by just 0.02 from Alexsandr Derevyagin who poured on the pressure from the last hurdle to take third. There was relief for the five-time Russian champion, though, when he was awarded one of the two fastest loser slots in the final.
Steve Landells for the IAAF
