Cleopatra Borel booked her place into her first World Outdoor finals when she finished third in her qualifying round of the women’s shot put at the 13th IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea yesterday. Borel threw the iron ball out to 18.95m on her third and final attempt over the required mark of 18.65m. The Baltimore, USA-based athlete will contest the finals carded for today 7.40am (TT time)/8.40pm (Daegu time). Borel opened her account with 18.20m and then improved to 18.40 to be in 11 eleventh position with one round to go.  In her final throw the Mayaro resident threw out 18.95m to take one of the automatic spost.

The 2010 Commonwealth silver medallist had not been successful in making the finals in her three previous appearances at the “Worlds.” Speaking after the competition an estatic Borel said all the hard work has paid off. The reigning Central Ameican and Caribbean (CAC) champion said she was relieved to have gotten through the group stage of the competition. “Going into the next round is like a next regular track meet for me. The qualification phase has been my Achilles’ heel. They have been tough for me,” she said, adding that she was more confident this time around. “I felt like I had more control. It was not just luck. Hard work and a lot of luck came together. I felt prepared for this.”  Kelly-Ann Baptiste lead the local female sprinters into the semifinals of the women’s 100m. In the first round yesterday, Baptiste blazed to victory in heat five in 11.27 seconds. The 24-year-old was a convincing winner over Chisato Fukushina (Japan) and Rosangela Santos (Brazil).

Michelle Lee Ahye was third in heat 4 in 11.20 seconds, grabbing one of the tree automatic spots. The 19-year-old Pan American Junior Champion’s time is an improvement on her personal best from 11.22 set on July 10. Semoy Hackett made it to her second World Championships semis with a fourth place finish in heat four in 11.27.  The Louisiana state University student advanced as a “fastest loser.” Hackett felt she could have given a much improved performance had she been in the pack and not the inside lane. Lee Ahye was happy with her personal best and is going for improvement the semifinals. The semifinals are carded for 6.30am (TT)/7.30pm (Daegu) with Lee Ahye running out lane 7 in the first heat while Hackett is listed in the second race and starts in lane 2. Baptiste will run in the third heat from lane 3. The trio will seek to finish in the top two to be assured of a place in the final set for 8.45 am/9.45 pm.

Results
W 100m-Round 1
Heat 2 (Wind +1.4m/s)
1    Kerron Stewart    Jamaica    11.13
2    Ruddy Zang Milama    Gabon    11.20
3    EzinneOkparaebo    Norway    11.21
4    Semoy Hackett    11.27q
Heat 3 (+1.0)
1    Ivet Lalova    Bulgaria    11.10
2    Oludamola Osayomi    Nigeria    11.15
3    Michelle Lee Ahye    T&T    11.20Q pb
Heat  5 (+0.1)
1    Kelly Ann Baptiste    T&T    11.27

W Shot Put-Qualification
1    Valarie Adams    New Zealand    19.79
2    Lijiao Gong    China    19.21
3    Christina Schwannitz        19.20
4    Nadzeya Ostapchuk    Belarus    19.11
5    Jillian Camarena-Williams    USA    19.09
6    Anna Omarova    Russia    19.03
7    Cleopatra Borel    T&T    18.95Q

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

By Clayton Clarke