Hutson in world junior 100m sprint final

EIGHTEEN-YEAR-old Wanda Hutson booked a spot in the women’s 100-metre final as the 2004 World Junior Track and Field Championships began at Grosetto, Italy yesterday. Hutson, who won gold at the recent Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championships in Mexico, won the third semi-final heat in a time of 11.60 seconds. And Hutson, who finished eighth and last in the 2002 version in Kingston, Jamaica, will fancy her chances of a medal in today’s final as her time was the third fastest among the eight finalists.

In the preliminary round, the pint-sized Memphis Pioneers sprinter won heat two in a brisk time of 11.58 seconds. But clubmate Monique Cabral failed to progress beyond the prelims as she finished seventh in heat six in a season’s best time of 12.04. Quartermilers Renny Quow and Abigail David will also be competing in their respective men’s and women’s “semis” today after contrasting results in the preliminary stage yesterday. The Tobagonian Quow, the national 400m junior champ and senior bronze medallist, clocked 47.19 seconds as he placed third in heat one while David, the national senior silver medallist, won heat four in a personal best time of 53.48 seconds. In today’s semi-finals, the 16-year-old Quow will face the starter in lane eight of heat one while the 18-year-old David has been drawn in lane four in heat one.