Olympic 400 meters champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas staked a claim for the women’s 200 meters crown at the London World Championships following a sizzling run at Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
Miller-Uibo, smashed the Bahamian 200 meter record after chasing American Torie Bowie to the line.
Bowie clocked a personal best of 21.77, the fastest time in the world this year, ahead of Miller-Uibo (21.91) and Jamaican 200m Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, who was third in 21.98. Miller-Uibo’s new mark erased her own national record of 22.05 set in June last year at the Racers Grand Prix meet in Kingston.
Running out of lane seven Bowie was quickly right on to the Bahamians shoulders and passed her by the time the pair got to the curve. Miller-Uibo, however, showed plenty of speed to keep ahead of a strong finishing Thompson who seemed caught out by the speed of the race. The Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers, the reigning world champion and Olympic silver medalist, was fourth in 22.30, while Allyson Felix, the runner-up to Miller-Uibo in Rio last year on a dive at the line, had to settle for fifth place in 22.33.
