Former world record holder Asafa Powell will not be running on Jamaica's 4x100m team at the Daegu World Championships because he has not recovered enough from the groin strain that prevented him from competing in the 100m. According to Powell’s agent, it would be too risky for the team if Powell were to run and pull up lame during the event in which Jamaica is a favorite for gold. The heats are set for tomorrow with the final on Saturday.
In the 4x400m heats, the Bahamian quartet of Ramon Miller, Avard Moncur, Andrae Williams, and LaToy Williams made a shocking exit after registering 3:01.54 to clock themselves out of the final in the heat won by Belgium with the Borlee brothers in a season best 3:00.71. Jamaica, on the other hand, surprisingly ran into the final. Drawn in lane seven among a tough group that included the USA in lane six, Britain in lane five, South Africa in lane one and Germany in lane two, the quartet of Allodin Fothergill, Riker Hylton, Lansford Spence and Leford Green clocked a fast season best 2:59.13 behind winner USA in a world leading 2:58.82 with 400m silver medalist LaShawn Merritt on anchor.
Jamaica is expected to bring in Jermaine Gonzales while the US could include hurdlers Bershawn Jackson and veteran Angelo Taylor.
In the individual events, Jamaica’s Kenia Sinclair moved on to the women’s 800m semi-final round while Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart, Sherone Simpson and Bahamas’s Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie have booked their places in the women’s 200m final.