Premier Wynn will be in Lane 7 Friday for his semifinal 400-meter hurdles race Friday at the World Under-20 Championships at Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru.
Wynn ran 51.89 in his 1st-round race Wednesday and easily qualified for the semis, placing 2nd and earning one of three auto qualifiers in his race. The top three in each of seven trials races plus the next three-fastest runners advanced to the semis.
That 51.89 was 9th-fastest overall of 45 competitors from around the world. World Under-20s is open at athletes who don’t turn 20 until after midnight on Dec. 31.
Wynn will race in the 3rd of three semifinal races Friday, with the first scheduled for 5:05 p.m. EST, the second at 5:13 EST and Wynn’s race due to go off at 5:23 p.m. EST.
The top two finishers in each of the three semis plus the next two-fastest runners advance to the final at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
I’m not sure how they seeded the semis, but four of the nine-fastest qualifiers are in that 3rd heat, led by Japan’s Kaira Gonda, whose 51.21 was the 2nd-fastest qualifying time. Jamaica’s Daniel Wright [51.42] and China’s Jingwei Guo [51.72] are also in Wynn’s heat.
Seven of the 13-fastest qualifiers are in the first heat, and only one of the 13-fastest qualifiers are in the second race. Makes no sense.
Wynn’s PR of 50.58 from the USATF Under-20 Championships in Eugene in June is 3rd-fastest in that 3rd semifinal, behind Wright [49.88] and Gonda [50.20].
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 