12 August 2013

Christine Ohuruogu (coach: Lloyd Cowan) set a new British record of 49.41 in the 400m to win GB & NI’s second gold medal at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.

The 2007 champion dramatically clawed back the lead of Amantle Montsho in the final metres and clinched the victory with a dip finish, beating the Botswanian by just four thousandths of a second. The GB & NI team captain, who won Olympic gold in 2008 and Olympic silver in London last summer, was overjoyed to have regained her title.

She said: “This is like a dream, it’s too much. I can’t even put it into words, I just thank God for everything – I can’t believe it. When I finished I didn’t know if I’d won it, I didn’t want to get over-excited until my name came up. I heard everyone screaming and I looked up and I’m just so happy. I feel like I’m in a dream.”

The title means Ohuruogu becomes one of Britain’s greatest ever athletes with one of the biggest global medal haul’s in history.

After qualifying for his third consecutive World Championships final as a fastest loser with a time of 13.34, William Sharman (Jerzy Maciukiewicz) went on to finish in fifth place in the 110m hurdles final, crossing the line in a time of 13.30. Sharman, who finished fourth in 2009 and fifth in 2011, was disappointed to miss out on a medal again.

He said: “I’m not very pleased with that, I made a mistake off hurdle one and it was hard work from there. It’s good to make the final but once you’re in the final you have to get a medal and all I needed to do was to perform to the best of my ability – I can’t wake up tomorrow morning and say I did that.”

At the end of the first day of the heptathlon, Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Mike Holmes) lies in sixth place with 3739 points after four events. Following a strong start in the 100m hurdles and high jump, the 20 year old threw 11.52m in the shot put before running a new personal best of 23.37 in the 200m, the second fastest of all competitors.

The 20 year old said that her performances were up and down on the first of the two days: “The day has been mixed emotions as it always is with the heptathlon. I had a good start in the hurdles with 13.48, and I was quite happy with where I finished in the 200m, it was just the high jump and shot put that let me down.”

Asha Philip (Christine Bowmaker) exited the 100m at the semi-final stage as her time of 11.35 placed her seventh in her race. Although she was disappointed not to reach the final, the 2007 world youth champion was positive about the experience of competing at the World Championships.

“I’m not happy with that at all but I can’t complain,” she said. “I’ve just got to take it that I’m at my first senior championships and I got to the semi-final, so that should be a pat on the back in itself. Coming from what I’ve done, never being able to believe in myself and coming this far, I’m going to take it as a positive.

In the men’s 400m, Nigel Levine (Linford Christie) finished sixth in his semi-final with a time of 45.60, outside of the qualifying positions for the final. The European Indoor Championships silver medallist was disappointed to miss out  but believed his performance highlights his recent progress.

He said: “It was a very poor performance from me in the semi-final, I do wish and believe that I can do a lot better. I’ll have to go back, work harder and come back and compete with these guys. Two years ago I hadn’t made the team as an individual so it shows that I’m progressing. Unfortunately I didn’t make the final but it’s my first time individually so I have to take it as it comes and learn from it.”

For full results from the evening session of day three in Moscow please go to: http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/14th-iaaf-world-championships-4873/timetable/byday

In tomorrow morning’s session, Johnson Thompson continues her heptathlon campaign with the long jump and javelin, Robbie Grabarz (Fuzz Ahmed) attempts to qualify for the high jump final and 10,000m gold medallist Mo Farah (Alberto Salazar) returns to the track for the heats of the men’s 5,000m.

Watch tomorrow morning’s session live on BBC2 between 6.15-10.35am.

GB & NI finalists at the 2013 IAAF World Championships: