July 21, 2010
MONCTON, Canada - IAAF Results Live Video Feed
Nittany Lion Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) continued to shine against outstanding competition at the IAAF World Junior Championships on Wednesday, capturing a heat victory in the 100-meter hurdle semi-finals to claim a lane in tomorrow night's final at Moncton 2010 Stadium. Britton was not the only member of the Penn State contingent in action, as incoming freshman Kirsten Nieuwendam (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) represented her native Surinam in the semi-finals of the 100-meter dash, but failed to advance to the next round.
Britton was out well from the gun in her second race in as many days, breaking the tape in 13.58 - just one hundredth off her opening round mark of 13.57. Britton managed to outlean the competition in a blanket finish, better Jamaica's Danielle Williams and Finland's Nooralotta Neziri, who finished in second and third, both recording a time of 13.63. The Nittany Lion's effort was the second-fastest performance of the round, with only Norway's Isabelle Pedersen, who won the first semi-final heat in 13.49.
"I just tried to execute throughout the whole race," said Britton in an onsite interview. "Yesterday, I didn't have that good of a start because I wasn't used to the gun so today my focus was just pushing out of the blocks and finishing the race."
Elsewhere, Nieuwendam, who earned a spot in the semi-final via a sixth-place finish in her preliminary heat on Tuesday, placed eighth in her heat in the semis, clocking 12.36.
Britton has a busy day ahead of her on Thursday, beginning with the preliminary round of the 400-meter hurdles at 8:15 a.m., EDT. After taking the afternoon off, the rising sophomore will be back in action at 8:30 p.m., EDT, in the 100 hurdle final. Classmate Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) is also waiting to compete, with the 800-meter preliminaries slated for Friday, at 10:20 a.m., EDT.