Rain can't slow down Crystal Emmanuel at track worlds
Canadian advances to semis of women's 100m with personal best
Despite a downpour affecting many of the runners at the Olympic Stadium in London on Saturday, Canada's Crystal Emmanuel blazed into the semifinals of the women's 100-metre event with a personal best time.
Emmanuel ran to a mark of 11.14 seconds, just behind Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, who won their heat in 11.05.
"[I] came out and realized it started raining, but that didn't really affect me," Emmanuel told CBC Sports. "I just executed a good race and qualified for the semifinals."
Emmanuel appreciated running in the same heat as Thompson, but said she was mainly focused on her own result.
"I came out here to focus on myself, but it was awesome getting to come out here and race in a good heat. ... So now it's time to fix up and go to the semifinals."
Gina Luckenkemper of Germany, who raced before the rain came had the top time of 10.95 seconds, was the only woman to break the 11-second mark, while Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands had more of a struggle finishing second to Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast. Ta Lou had the second-best time of 11.00.
The semifinals and final are set for Sunday (2:10 p.m. ET, CBC, CBCSports.ca).
McBride moves on
Canadian Brandon McBride advanced to the semifinals in the men's 800m with a third-overall finish in the heats.
McBride's time of 1:45.69 was just off the lead time of Thjimen Kuper of the Netherlands, who was the top qualifier in 1:45.53.
"I just wanted it to be an honest race," McBride told CBC Sports. "I just wanted to control and dictate the pace."
Sunday's semifinal is slated for 4:15 p.m. ET (CBC, CBCSports.ca)
Stafford, Sifuentes struggle in semis
Nicole Sifuentes and Gabriela Stafford competed in the 1500m semifinals on Saturday, but neither Canadian was able to advance to the final.
Sifuentes finished ninth in her heat with a time of 4:07.92, while Stafford was 12th in the second heat at 4:08.51.
Stafford, who ran a personal-best 4:04.55 to place seventh in her qualifying heat, was hoping for a better performance, but blamed herself for checking out.
"I was really happy with how I ran the first half of the race," Stafford said. "But when the move was made, I just felt flat and I mentally checked out. So that's my fault."
After qualifying with a season-best 4:05.24, Sifuentes was also disappointed.
"It's a tough one, but I was ranked last going into this heat," Sifuentes said. "I totally believe that I could have been in the final, so I'm not totally shocked, but I'm disappointed."
Wodak, Cliff run 10K final
Canadian record-holder Natasha Wodak and teammate Rachel Cliff finished 16th and 20th, respectively in the women's 10,000m final.
Wodak clocked a time of 31:55.27 and Cliff came in at 32:00.3.
Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana added the world championship title to her Olympic gold with a time of 30:16.33.
Walsh goes all out
Shot put qualifying is usually about doing enough to get into the final. They didn't tell Tomas Walsh.
The New Zealander had a massive throw of 22.14 metres, which the IAAF said was the second biggest ever in the 34-year history of the event. The championship record is 22.23 metres, set by Werner Guenthor in 1987.
Joining Walsh in Sunday's final with a first automatic qualifying mark were Olympic champion Ryan Crouser and two-time world champion David Storl of Germany.
Canada's Tim Nedow had a mark of 20.09 but failed to qualify for the final.
Van Niekerk starts strong
Wayde van Niekerk won his opening heat in the 400 metres on Saturday, his first race of possibly six in as many days at the world championships. The Olympic champion crossed in 45.27 seconds, .26 ahead of Nery Brenes of Costa Rica.
The South African is seeking to win gold in both the 400 and 200 metres over the next week. He is tipped by many to become the sport's next star now that Usain Bolt is retiring after the world championships.
In both races, though, he might find his toughest rival in Isaac Makwala of Botswana. Makwala was just as good in his heat. Following a fast start, it was a jog in the finishing straight as he finished in 44.55 for the top time of the day.
The two are equally tight competitors in the 200, too, yet there is no bitterness in their rivalry.
"Wayde van Niekerk is my brother," Makwala said. "We want to conquer the world together and make the final for Africa. He is so friendly and a lovely guy."
End of an era
Reigning Olympic and world champion Bolt and longtime rival Justin Gatlin both qualified for the men's 100-metre final.
Bolt finished second in his semifinal heat with a time of 9.98 seconds, behind American Christian Coleman who clocked 9.97.
The 30-year-old Bolt, who is retiring after the competition, was seeking his fourth world title in the event he has dominated since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
However, Justin Gatlin defeated the 30-year-old Jamaican in a time of 9.92 seconds to win the men's 100-metre final. Christian Coleman was second in 9.94 and Bolt finished third in 9.95.
With files from The Associated Press/Canadian Press/CBC Sports