UK Track & Field 2017 World Championships Report: Day 5

Kori Carter, who serves as a volunteer assistant coach on the Kentucky track and field staff and trains under UK head coach Edrick Floréal’s tutelage having competed collegiately for Stanford, continued the string of world-class performances by the talented pool of professionals who train at the UK track on Monday.
The United States bronze medalist advanced to the women’s 400-meter hurdles final, while UK Class of 2015 alumna Leah Nugent – a finalist at the Olympic Games representing Jamaica a year ago – was knocked out of the Championships on Monday.
Carter placed a comfortable second in the first of three semifinal heats, running a time of 54.92Q – fourth fastest of the finalists.
The Stanford graduate ran 52.96, the fastest she’s run since setting the collegiate record at 53.21 to win the 2013 NCAA Championship – in a bronze-medal performance to qualify for the World Championships at the USATF Championships in June. With that time Carter moved to No. 19 on the world all-time performers’ list and eighth on the U.S. all-time performers’ list.
Carter won the most recent Diamond League 400m hurdles race in Monaco last month.
“I love Coach Flo,” Carter said in the mixed zone following the semifinal. “We’ve had a relationship going back farther back than most people know. He’s like my second dad and he just pushes me every single day to be better so I’m so blessed to have him.
“You work so hard for this moment. You sacrifice every day to get to this stage and to be able to execute like you want to is really special.”
The Floréal pupil will run out of lane nine (heat winners are awarded more central lanes) in the final at 4:35 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Nugent placed sixth in heat one with a time of 56.19, 14th overall – and 0.46 seconds off the last non-automatic qualifying time.
Nugent ran 54.98 in the Olympic semifinals to advance to the final a year ago, and then set a personal best at 54.45 in placing sixth in the final last summer in Rio de Janeiro. Nugent’s 2017 season best was 54.54 to medal at the Jamaican Championships in Kingston in June.
“Things didn’t go as planned at this Championship, however I’m still so blessed and have so much to be thankful for,” Nugent said. “Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me along the way. (Coach) Flo and I aren’t done yet.”
Kayelle Clarke – who ran the third leg of UK’s NCAA Champion 4x100m relay team in June – made her World Championships debut for Trinidad and Tobago running a time of 23.75 in the 200m heats. She placed sixth in heat four, 35th overall, and did not advance. Clarke is also in T&T’s 4x100m relay pool, and that event will be contested over the final weekend.
Jamaican Arkansas alumnus, now UK volunteer assistant, Omar McLeod’s 110m hurdles gold from Monday highlighted an eventful first four days of the IAAF World Championships for Kentucky Track and Field alumni and staff members.
McLeod could feature in the 4x100m pool for Jamaica over the weekend.
Sha’Keela Saunders – wrapping up a senior season which saw her crowned NCAA indoor long jump champion – will begin her first major international championship with long jump qualifying on Wednesday. She’ll be the penultimate jumper of 15 competitors in group b.
Saunders can qualify for the Friday final automatically by reaching a mark of 21’11.75”/6.70m. Should fewer than 12 competitors not reach that mark from three attempts on Thursday, the meet officials have announced they’ll take at least the top 12 performers from qualifying.
NBC Sports Gold will stream a long jump specific broadcast.
UK Class of 2015 alumna Kendra Harrison, who like her training partner McLeod enters these World Championships as favorite, will begin her program on Friday in the 100m hurdles heats.

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by Jacob Most