The Tribune

From BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

in Beijing, China

bstubbs@tribunemedia.,net

ALL three Bahamian competitors advanced from the first round of the highly competitive men's 400m at the IAAF World Championships on Sunday, but sprinter Sheniqua 'Q' Ferguson missed out on her opportunity to progress in an even more exciting women's 100m.

Day two started for Team Bahamas with Michael Mathieu coming through the finish line in the third of the six heats in 45.07 seconds. He had to wait until the end of the round to determine whether he moved onto the semi-finals.

Steven Gardiner, the 19-year-old 'Boy Wonder,' made his debut a rather difficult one, running out of lane nine where he had to power back on the home stretch to take second in heat five in 45.26.

And Chris 'Fireman' Brown, the 36-year-old veteran, was right in the mix of heat six, but he faded down the home stretch and had to settle for fourth place in 44.68. Brown originally was not named to the men's 400m, but got in after LaToy Williams gave up his spot.

Showing his appreciation for the gesture, Brown had the fastest time of the Bahamian trio as he ended up 14th fastest overall of the qualifiers. Mathieu was 20th and Gardiner was 27th.

The first round was so fast that Yousef Ahmed Masrahi, of Saudia Arabia, ran an area record for the top qualifying time in heat of 43.93, followed by Rusheen McDonald with a Jamaican national record of 43.93.

The start list for Monday's semi-final has not yet been set, but the Bahamas will have three of the 24 spots that will determine who will make up the final eight for Wednesday.

As for the women's 100m, Ferguson's time of 11.48 seconds left her out of contention for the semi-finals. She placed fifth in the last of the seven heats and failed to move on.

Rosangela Santos, of Brazil, won the heat in 11.14 and Jamaican defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and American national champion Tori Bowie both stopped the clock in the fastest times of 10.88 in winning heat four and one respectively.

Full reports and photographs in Monday's Tribune.