Natalie Dumas earned a gold medal at the World Under-20 Championships Wednesday night without stepping on the track.
Dumas, a June graduate of Eastern, ran for the U.S. mixed 4-by-400 team that led all qualifiers earlier Wednesday in the semifinals at Hayward Field in Eugene with the 3rd-fastest time on the all-time Under-20 mixed 4-by-4 list, a 3:18.26.
With a potential three rounds of the 400-meter hurdles coming up over the next four days, the U.S. coaching staff replaced Dumas in the finals. Every runner who races in any round receives the same medal as those who ran in the final, so when the U.S. won the final in 3:15.31, a world under-20 record, Dumas became an Under-20 World Championship gold medalist.
In the semis, Dumas ran the 2nd leg with a 52.35 split.
Dumas, ranked 5th in the world Under 20 at 56.13, will be in Lane 4 in the 6th of six races in the first round of the 400-meter hurdles on Thursday.
Hope Edwards of Pennsauken, the fastest sophomore in the U.S. this year at 58.72, is in Lane 4 in the 1st heat.
The first four finishers in each of the six heats along with the next three-fastest times advance to the semifinals, scheduled for 9:15 p.m. EST on Saturday. The final is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 