Daegu, South Korea -- First day action at the 13th IAAF World Championships had Texas A&M senior Jessica Beard advancing to the semifinals of the 400 meters with a conservative time of 52.40 seconds, which placed her fourth in the heat.
The top four finishers in each heat, plus the next four fastest times, qualified for the semifinals. Beard was one of four Americans who advanced to the next stage as she joined teammates Allyson Felix (51.45), Sanya Richards-Ross (51.37) and Francena McCorory (52.18).
Another Aggie sprinter in action on the first day of the World Championships was Gerald Phiri in the men's 100 meters. Running for Zambia, in a lane adjacent to world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica, Phiri finished sixth in the heat with a time of 10.60 after misjudging the sound of the starting mechanism. Bolt won the heat in a leading time of 10.10 seconds.
Competing Sunday morning (Saturday evening local time) are two Aggies in the men's 400 meters, Tabarie Henry (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Demetrius Pinder (Bahamas), along with Aries Merritt in the 110 hurdles. Merritt, who trains at Texas A&M, will race in the opening rounds of the hurdles at 7:50 p.m. (CST) while the first round of the 400 starts at 9:15 p.m. (CST).
Beard finished fourth in her heat behind Ukraine's Antonina Yefremova (51.35), Russia's Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (51.43) and Senegal's Ndeye Fatou Soumah (52.23). Stationed in lane six Beard was inside of Kapachinskaya, who came into the World Championships as the current world leader with a time of 49.35 seconds.
"I think I got out pretty well, though I maybe got too relaxed down the homestretch and off the curve," noted Beard on her first round race. "It was a pretty smooth race though, and it wasn't too exhausting. I knew I had to finish among the top four."
The semifinals of the women's 400 will take place Sunday evening (4:55 a.m. local time) where the field of 24 runners will be whittled down to the eight individuals qualifying to the final. Among the three semifinal heats, the top two finishers plus the next two fastest times advance.
Beard, who reached the semifinals during the 2009 World Championships, is aware the next round will require a strong performance to make the final.
"I think I may need to run something big, maybe even a PR, to make it past the semifinals," said Beard, who has a career best of 50.56 from 2009 and a season best of 51.06 in 2011. "I have to push a lot harder and fight more at the end of the race. A lot of the women in this field are really strong finishers. That is the part of my race I know I need to work on."
Sunday Morning Session
Aggie senior sprinters Tabarie Henry and Demetrius Pinder each qualified for the men's 400-meter semifinal after placing fourth in their respective heats during the morning session on the second day of action at the IAAF World Championships.
Henry ran in the opening heat and posted a time of 45.22 as Grenada's Rondell Bartholomew won in 44.82. Renny Quow of Trinidad & Tobago finished second in 44.84 with Greg Nixon of the U.S. third in 45.16.
"I felt great, but I didn't think those guys in my heat were going to roll out that fast," Henry noted. "They shocked me a bit, so I had to react at the end of the race to hold down an automatic qualifier."
In the semifinal Henry will run in lane seven in the second heat, where the top two finishers and the next two fastest times advance to the eight-person final. Joining Henry in the second heat is Grenada's Kirani James, who won the NCAA Outdoor title competing for Alabama, along with former World Indoor champion Chris Brown of the Bahamas.
Pinder recorded a time of 45.53 in the second heat, which was won by Jermaine Gonzales of Jamaica in 45.12. American Jamaal Torrance placed second in 45.44 with Poland's Marcin Marcininszyn third at 45.51. Pinder was one of three Bahamas sprinters to reach the semifinal round.
In the semifinal Pinder will be stationed in lane one of the third heat. Also in the same heat with Pinder are Bartholomew and Gonzales.
Aries Merritt won the final heat of the 110 hurdles in the opening round of the World Championships. With a time of 13.36 Merritt claimed the heat over defending Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba, who was second in 13.42.
All three Americans advanced to the semifinal with Jason Richardson leading the field at 13.19 while David Oliver posted a 13.27.
The semifinals for the 110 hurdles has two heats with the top three and the next two fastest times advancing to the final. Merritt is in the first heat with China's Xiang Liu, Robles and Britain's Andy Turner.
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