Jamaica’s dominance of sprinting shows no signs of ending soon. Like Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce first came to world attention when winning gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has since proved to be the finest sprinter of her generation.
With green braids and flowers in her hair, Fraser-Pryce won her fourth individual World Championship gold medal to go along with two Olympic titles. She led from the gun and held off the late challenge of Dafne Schippers, of the Netherlands, to win in 10.76sec, with Schippers second in 10.81 and Tori Bowie, of the United States, third in 10.86. “I like to be bright and bold so for me it is about being happy and relaxed on the start line,” said Fraser-Pryce, explaining her style choice for the night.
The performance of Schippers was remarkable. She is the European 100 metres and 200 metres champion, but as recently as May was a heptathlete. It was when she was competing against Jessica Ennis-Hill in Götzis, Austria, that she decided to stop multi-eventing because the high jump was aggravating a knee injury.
Some improvement could have been expected when she concentrated full-time on sprinting, but she broke her own Dutch record twice in the same night in Beijing. It should also be noted that the 200 metres is her favoured event.
“It was a good decision,” Schippers said. “It was difficult to choose an event because I like the heptathlon also but I am very happy with a silver. A heptathlete must be fast in the 100 metres hurdles, 200 metres and long jump. Normally I say my start was no good but I have more time to work on it now and it is better.”
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Eilidh Child reached the final of the women’s 400 metres hurdles. The European champion was the seventh-fastest qualifier for tomorrow’s final, although she feels there were lots of things that she can improve on.
“My hurdling was really messy,” the Scot said. “I clipped one, when a pair of us were trying to fight for it and it got a bit scrappy. Thankfully it’s enough to get into the final. It’ll be a rubbish lane but I’d rather be in a rubbish lane in the final than not be in it at all.”
Rabah Yousif, the Sudan-born British athlete, is through to the final of the men’s 400 metres, but yesterday’s semi-finals were a step too far for Martyn Rooney, who could not match his performance in the heats.
After losing the past two summer seasons to injury, Holly Bradshaw did not put a foot wrong in sailing through to the final of the pole vault. “I surprised myself after the long two years I’ve had,” Bradshaw said. “I’m confident that I am fit, healthy and jumping well, so you never know what can happen.”
• Liliya Shobukhova, the Russian who was stripped of her 2012 London marathon victory for doping, has had her ban of three years and two months reduced by seven months for providing “substantial assistance” to the World Anti-Doping Agency and is free to compete again.