‘Batman’ doesn’t joke around

U.S. hurdler Bershawn “Batman” Jackson easily advanced to the Olympic final of the 400 hurdles, slowing at the end of his semifinal heat Saturday but still finishing second.

“The race was great,” Jackson, of Raleigh, N.C., said. “I felt good. I wanted to conserve as much energy as possible to make it to the next round, and that’s what happened. I feel great going into the Monday final.”

Jackson, the 2005 world champion in the event, has had troubles in semifinal heats before. In 2007 at the World Championships in Japan, he hit a hurdle in the semis and didn’t make the final. That memory still fuels him.

“Last year I was running a bit wild and messed up the last hurdle,” said Jackson, who grew up in Miami, went to college at St. Augustine’s and still trains at St. Aug’s under coach George Williams.

The 400 hurdles – traditionally an American stronghold – will have three U.S. hurdlers in Monday’s eight-man final.

The top four runners advanced from each 400 hurdle semifinal.

American Angelo Taylor won the first heat over Jackson in a time of 47.94 compared to Jackson’s 48.02. In the second semifinal, American Kerron Clement won with a time of 48.27 to also advance.

Field hockey

The world’s field hockey community might not have thought too highly of the U.S. women’s team entering the Summer Olympics, but the players came to Beijing feeling that winning a medal was a realistic goal.

So far, the U.S. showing has far surpassed its world standing – it is ranked 11th of the 12 teams in this tournament.

In four games the Americans have only lost once, and won their first game Saturday, 4-1 over New Zealand.

“We know what we’re capable of,” said defender Rachel Dawson, a two-time All-American at the University of North Carolina and a native of Camden, N.J. “We’re not exceeding our expectations. As for the people in the world hockey scene maybe we’re exceeding their expectations, but not our own.”

The U.S. has played well in its group, with its only loss coming against Germany. It rallied to come back and tie both Argentina and Japan, ranked second and sixth in the world, respectively. Before the Olympics, Argentina had won five straight matches against the U.S. in major competition going back to 2001.

The Americans’ chances of reaching medal play became slim when Argentina beat group-leader and previously unbeaten Germany 4-0.

With only two teams from the group advancing to the medal round, the U.S. needs to beat Great Britain on Monday and hope winless New Zealand knocks off Argentina.