FILE PHOTO: Athletics – IAAF Diamond League Final – Brussels, Belgium – September 1, 2017 Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas celebrates winning the Women’s 400 metres REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
February 4, 2018
(Reuters) – Bahamian Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo matched the fastest time ever recorded in the rarely run women’s 300 metres and an American team broke the world record in the women’s 4x800m relay at the NYRR Millrose Games on Saturday.
Miller-Unibo, the 2016 Rio Games 400 metres champion, sped to a runaway victory of 35.45 seconds around the indoor track in New York as she equalled the 25-year-old mark set by Russia’s Irina Privalova.
“Coach wanted me to come out her and run a pretty good time and it was a world record,” Miller-Uibo said of the event which is not recognised for world record purposes.
“It’s a great feeling.”
A world record did fall in the women’s 4x800m relay, however, thanks to an inspiring anchor leg by Ajee Wilson.
Chrishuna Williams, Raevyn Rogers, Charlene Lipsey and Wilson clocked 8:05.89 to better a 2011 Russian quartet’s mark of 8:06.24.
“It was insane,” Wilson, who ran her 800 metres in 1:58.37, told NBC Sports. “I could feel the crowd. They really pushed me, encouraged me to keep digging.”
Greek Olympic gold medallist Katerina Stefanidi won a highly anticipated women’s pole vault that lost much of its lustre after American rival Sandi Morris pulled out due to back spasms.
Stefanidi, who is also the reigning world champion, claimed her 15th consecutive victory by clearing 4.71m on her second attempt.
American Katie Nageotte matched the Greek woman’s vault but lost out on countback after registering more failures at an earlier height.
Young Kenyan Emmanuel Korir sped to the year’s fastest 800m, cruising to victory in 1:44.21, and Scotland’s Chris O’Hare posted the leading mile time of 2018 with a 3:54.14.
Americans Ronnie Baker and Devon Allen, and the Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure also defeated quality fields.
The up-and-coming Baker eased to victory in the men’s 60m, running 6.48 seconds, more than a tenth of a second ahead of countryman Noah Lyles.
Jamaican Olympic hurdles champion Omar McLeod was fifth and countryman Asafa Powell, the former world 100m record holder, finished sixth.
Allen ran down outdoor world record holder Aries Merritt to claim the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.50 seconds, 0.03 seconds faster than Merritt.
Ahoure, already the year’s fastest, put up another quality time to win the women’s 60m in 7.11 seconds, marginally ahead of American world 100m champion Tori Bowie (7.14).
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by John O’Brien)
