Fred Kerley qualifies for 400m final at IAAF World Championships

LONDON – Texas A&M's Fred Kerley reached the final of the 400 meters at the IAAF World Championships as the top time qualifier after placing third in his semifinal effort on Sunday at London Stadium.
 
Simone Facey didn't reach the final of the women's 100m as she finished sixth in her semifinal heat with a time of 11.23 (0.8 wind). Facey returns to the track on Tuesday for the first round of the 200m.
 
Brazier placed seventh in his semifinal heat of the 800m, clocking a 1:46.27 with 1:45.83 serving as the last time qualifier to reach the final.
 
The top two finishers in each of the three semifinal races automatically advanced to the final while there were two positions in the final based on time. Running in the first heat, Kerley had to wait out two more races to see if his 44.51 would advance him the final.
 
Kerley, with the fastest time qualifier, is the lone American in the men's 400m final, which will be run on Tuesday evening at 9:50 p.m. (3:50 p.m. CT).
 
"I just need to finish my race next time, that's all," stated Kerley. "The first 200m was smooth, but I need to work on the last 100m. I tried to push a little too early after I reached the 200m mark. I just need to finish in the final, and produce one of my best performances."
 
With his typical strong first 200m of the race, Kerley was challenged in the curve between 200m and 300m by Bahamas Steven Gardner and Jamaica's Nathon Allen. As they reached the homestretch, Gardiner eased ahead and won the semifinal heat in a national record of 43.89 while Allen, who competes at Auburn, claimed runner-up in 44.19 to auto qualify for the final.
 
Finishing behind Kerley in the first semifinal race were Kevin Borlee of Belgium (45.10) and American Wil London (45.12), who competes at Baylor.
 
The other auto qualifiers for the final included defending world champion and world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk of South Africa (44.22), Botswana's tandem of Baboloki Thebe (44.33) and Isaac Makwala (44.30) along with Demish Gaye of Jamaica (44.55). The other time qualifier was Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar with a 44.64.   
 
Other Americans in the semifinal round included Gil Roberts (44.84), who finished third in the final semifinal heat, and LaShawn Merritt (45.52).
 
Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast won the 100m semifinal heat Facey raced in with a 10.87 while Netherland's Dafne Schippers claimed the runner-up position in 10.98. In the final, Ta Lou (10.86) and Schippers (10.96) earned silver and bronze medals behind the gold medal performance of 10.85 by American Tori Bowie.
 
"I think the bad part of my race in the semifinal was my start," noted Facey. "I didn't get out like I wanted. I was more passive instead of being aggressive coming out of the blocks. I kind of paid the price and had to try to play catch-up when it was too late. I still have some things to learn running the 100m, the 200m is my better event."
 
Kenya's Kipyegon Bett (1:45.02) won the semifinal heat of the 800m that included Brazier. Bett led the field through splits of 24.22 (200m), 51.51 (400m) and 1:18.74 (600m). Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia (1:45.40) finished second. Earning a place in the final based on time from the third semifinal were Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France (1:45.63) and Brazil's Thiago Andre (1:45.83).
 
Brazier was in fourth place for a majority of the race, but was passed in the final stages of the race by Poland's Michal Rozmys (1:46.10) and Andreas Kramer of Sweden (1:46.25).
 
"I didn't race right, and I was thinking ahead about Tuesday's final instead of tonight's race," said Brazier. "I saw in the pair of races before me that Emmanuel Korir may not be in the final and then I saw Brandon McBride go out in 50 and run 1:45. I can run 50 and can come back in 1:43 or 1:44. I had to qualify from this race, but I paid a price tonight and didn't make the final."
 
2017 IAAF World Championships – Schedule for Texas A&M Athletes
(London time listed first, followed by Central time)
 
Monday, August 7
      6:30 p.m.    12:30 p.m.            M 200m    Heats            Ameer Webb
      7:30 p.m.      1:30 p.m.            W 400H    Heats            Shamier Little
 
Tuesday, August 8
      7:20 p.m.      1:20 p.m.           W 200m    Heats            Kadecia Baird, Simone Facey, Brenessa Thompson
      8:35 p.m.      2:35 p.m.            W 400H    Semi              (Shamier Little)
      9:50 p.m.      3:50 p.m.            M 400m    FINAL            Fred Kerley