Francis shocks Felix, Miller-Uibo for 400m gold
Bittersweet bronze sees Felix equal Bolt, Ottey
AFP
AFP, LONDON: American Phyllis Francis ripped up the form book to claim a shock gold in the womens 400m at the IAAF World Championships on Wednesday.
The race had been billed as a straight duel between multi-medalled American Allyson Felix, the defending champion, and Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo.
But clear leader Miller-Uibo tied up in shocking fashion with 20 metres to run to allow hard-charging Francis, 25, win with a personal best of 49.92 seconds.
Bahrain teenager Salwa Eid Naser claimed silver in a national record of 50.06, with Felix taking bronze, just 0.02sec adrift, as Miller-Uibo went from first to fourth in the final strides.
Francis, who finished fifth at the Rio Olympics, was left stunned by her victory.
It is amazing. I am so excited. It is such an amazing feeling. Being world champion sounds pretty cool. This win has not hit me yet, but I guess tomorrow when I will wake up, the 25-year-old said.
Allyson and Shaunae are amazing finishers, we are that talented. When I went down the home straight I just believed in myself and stayed patient.
I just knew what I was capable of doing, so I stuck to my race model.
At the finish line I was surprised, I thought I was second or third, but then they told me you are first. That is crazy.
Naser, 19 and born to a Bahraini father and Nigerian mother, said she had surprised my opponents and I even surprised myself.
Coming to these championships, I really did not think about a medal.
I was not chasing Felix, I was pushing myself until the very end and I did not even see what was going on in the last metres.
Bronze in the 400m proved to be a bittersweet consolation for US track legend Allyson Felix as she drew level with Jamaicans Merlene Ottey and Usain Bolt on having won 14 world championships medals.
Felix has also bagged an incredible nine Olympic medals including six gold. Of her 14 world medals, nine have been gold, while 12 in total were won as part of the US relay team.
Jamaican Bolt, in his swansong season, can move to 15 with a medal in the 4x100m relay this weekend, but Felix is slated to run both the 4x100 and 4x400m relays for the US team, which could take her to 16.
Felix crashed through into bronze in Wednesdays 400m after Bahamas rival and race leader Shaunae Miller-Uibo faltered 20 metres from the finish line.
In pouring rain, Felixs unheralded teammate Phyllis Francis ripped up the form book to claim a shock gold, with Bahrains Salwa Eid Naser taking silver just ahead of Felix.
I cannot lie, I am disappointed to lose one gold tonight but the championships is not over yet so we keep going, said Felix, who kicked off her startling medal haul with a 200m silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, her first global gold coming in the 200m at the Helsinki world champs a year later.
But this was the race that mattered to me, the individual race, that is what it is about. So to come up short tonight is never fun. But I am happy for my team mate. At this level, you cannot underestimate anyone.
You always go into a race wanting to win and that was my goal all season, so when you fall short of that mark its definitely disappointing.
At the same time I feel very grateful to have done this for a long time and still be competing at the top.
Felix, now 31, added: I am not hurt, it is just the 400m, it is what it is. The conditions were the same for everyone, I am not sure if that was the factor tonight. It all seems wet to me.
I still feel it is not over yet. I still did not give everything so I am excited to keep going until 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics.
Felix played down the idea that she was not given enough credit for her astonishing longevity and medal haul.
