Track and field: Muna Lee, United States

BEIJING – The 100 meters certainly was disappointing for Muna Lee. But she’s trying to look on the good side of it.

“I was pretty mad,” she said of her fifth-place finish Sunday, “but it added fuel to my fire.”

She used that to her advantage in the first two rounds of the women’s 200 meters here at the Bird’s Nest. After winning her first-round heat with the best time in the field Tuesday morning, 22.71 seconds, she easily advanced to the semifinals with a quarterfinal time of 22.83 in the evening.

“I think it was really good for me,” she said of her opening race, “because now that (22.83) was really easy.

“Everybody else had to run harder because they didn’t get that feeling the first round.

“Now it’s rest and still fine-tune for the final. I really held my form better than I have any other time.“

Also advancing to the semifinals was 2004 silver medalist Allyson Felix (22.74) and Marshevet Hooker (22.76).

Kansas City Star