Anderson and Israel advance in Monday morning prelim rounds in Daegu...
Running in the tight confines of lane 1 in the last of five heats, Anderson ran a time of 48.81 for the victory, which was the fastest time run by the four Americans competing this morning.
In the mixed zone, Anderson said, "Today went real good. The hardest part of the race was getting to the first hurdle (he drew lane 1). I couldn't see it as the clock was in the way. I've done this race so many times so I know instinctively when a hurdle is coming up, and that hurdle came up fast--that track is fast!"
I can't wait to let loose and let my stride go.
Commenting on how his victory at the World University Games in China helped him going into the world championships, he said, "I got a big confidence boost from that. I ran well in the first round, but lost a little focus in the semis. In the finals I ran out of lane 8, which was a blessing as I couldn't see anybody, and had to battle the climate and the humidity (which will help here in Korea)."
On what to expect on Tuesday's semi final round, Anderson said, "It's just doing what I did today. I want to make sure I keep my country in the finals, go out there and let it loose."
Here is the video of Anderson post race in the mixed zone.
Estonia's Märt Israel, who competed for the University of Washington in 2007, advanced to Wednesday night's finals in the men's discus.
Throwing in the second of two qualifying groups, threw 210-7 (64.19m) to finish with the seventh best mark of the day, and fourth place in his group.
"This is what I expected to do," Israel said. "My goal was to throw 63.50 (208-4) in the first round and I missed it by one centimeter, so I had a lot of confidence going."
"I knew that after throwing that, I'd have a good shot at advancing to the finals."
"I tried to add to my throw (in round 2) and get a good feel for the circle, and after that throw (of 210-7), I was feeling very comfortable about my position for the finals."
On winning the World University Games discus title last week in China, he expressed that it helped going into Daegu, especially with having to go through a qualifying round before the finals.
"To win a medal in a big competition like the World University Games is not easy."
Marysville native Jarred Rome, who was a finalist in this meet two years ago and had the third best throw in the world this season, did not make the discus finals, only throwing 204-1 (62.22m), the 14th best mark of the day out of the two groups.
“I had three throws where I was blocked off in the front. I don’t know...I’ve been throwing the best I’ve thrown in my career in the last month, and I don’t know...I had a really bad day..I don’t understand," he said.
“It was definitely a lot hotter than normal, but it’s hot in San Diego where I train all the time. It was a technical thing.”
Day 3 results from the IAAF World Track & Field Championships are available here.
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