Clement wins 400-meter hurdles
OSAKA, Japan – The kid salvaged an otherwise tough night for the United States at Nagai Stadium.
Kerron Clement powered his way to victory in the 400-meter hurdles to give the Americans an eighth medal, and third gold, in the first four days of the world track and field championships.
It wasn’t pretty.
No one will compare Clement with Edwin Moses in terms of style, but he has the raw talent to dominate a race. He stutter-stepped before the last two hurdles, and still won going away.
“I’m 21,” Clement said. “I’m still young. I have a few things to work on, and the future is very bright.”
Youth outraced age at the finish, but Felix Sanchez, who turns 30 on Thursday, was more than happy with a silver medal.
Sanchez is the reigning Olympic champion and a two-time world champion. He once won 43 races in a row, but the past two years have been a miserable mix of injuries and poor performances.
“I feel the fire again,” he said.
Just before Clement’s victory, Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva charmed the crowd en route to her second pole vault world title. She clinched the victory by clearing 15 feet, 9 inches, then missed three times at a world record 16-5 1/2 .
Two nights after winning the 100, an admittedly weary Tyson Gay advanced through the first two rounds of the 200, and Jeremy Wariner breezed through the preliminaries of the 400.
Former Washington State University star Dominique Arnold, the American record holder in the 110 hurdles, has withdrawn because of an Achilles tendon injury.
He will be replaced by David Payne, the fourth-place finisher at the U.S. championships in June, U.S. team officials said.
Arnold was the 2006 U.S. champion and runner-up to Terrence Trammell this year.
But eight hurdlers have run faster than Arnold’s season-best 13.17 seconds, including Payne, who ran a 13.12 to win in Doha, Qatar, in May.
Angela Whyte, a former University of Idaho athlete and current assistant coach, qualified for today’s women’s 100 hurdles final with a 12.65 in the semifinals.