Washington alum Gianna Woodruff advances to 400 hurdles semis at world championships...
LONDON—University of Washington alum Gianna Woodruff (left/photo by Paul Merca) finished fourth in her first round heat of the women’s 400 meter hurdles at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships Monday night to advance to Tuesday’s semi-final round.
Running in the fourth of five heats, Woodruff, who is competing for Panama at the world championships, ran 56.50 to comfortably get the fourth spot in Tuesday’s semi final round, as Pac-12 rival Kori Carter from Stanford and Team USA won the heat in 54.99.
Like she did Monday, Woodruff will draw lane 2 in Tuesday’s semifinal where she will face fellow Pac-12 competitors Sage Watson (Canada) of Arizona, and reigning Olympic champion Delilah Muhammad (UCLA) of Team USA.
Woodruff, who now trains in Northridge, California with a group that includes Muhammad, said afterwards, said that because she drew lane 2, she was forced to work on her first 200 meters, then concentrate on hurdles 6 and 7. By doing so, she said it set her up well for the finish.
“This is the biggest setting in track and field that I’ve ever been a part of,” she said about the crowd, which was announced as 49,920 for Monday’s session.
“(the crowd) gives you a lot of adrenaline, and it makes you want to run faster over the last 100 meters.
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