Posted: July 17, 2004

Athletics: Clement, Solomon set championship records at World Juniors; Alexander battles injury to strike gold

GROSSETO, Italy – Team USA’s Clement and Solomon set new championship records in men’s 400m hurdles and women’s 200m finals, respectively, while Alexander battles injury to strike gold in the women’s 100m hurdles final on day 4 of the 10th IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships in Grosseto, Italy.

The 400m hurdles final was nothing less than spectacular as Kerron Clement of Florida set a new championships record of 48.51 seconds bettering the 48.89 set by Louis van Zyl of Russia in Kingston, Jamaica. “This was a big PR for me,” said Clement. “I was expecting this time but will try to improve since I’m still young and going into my sophomore year at Florida.” Brandon Johnson of UCLA set a personal best and also bettered the previous two-year old championship record with his time of 49.78 seconds to claim silver. “Today the race was easier for me because I let the race come to me,” said Johnson.

In the 200m finals, University of South Carolina-bound Shalonda Solomon ran 22.82 seconds to better the championship record of 22.87 seconds set by Veronica Campbell of Jamaica in Santiago de Chile to win her first World Juniors 200m crown. “I did not expect to set a championship record with 22.82, but I was going for 22 seconds,” said Solomon. “I’m very excited and knew I could do it,” Solomon continued. Fellow U.S. teammate Shana Cox of Penn State finished fifth (23.63). “This race was better than my race yesterday,” said Cox. “My time was not as fast as it has been in the past.”

South Carolina’s Ronetta Alexander showed determination and would not be denied as she fought through pain from a hamstring injury suffered earlier in the competition. A native of Buffalo, NY, Alexander ran 13.42 seconds to win the women’s 100m hurdles title. “I just had to focus on the race rather than the pain in my right hamstring,” said Alexander. “I had to be careful to make sure, I did not do anything to make it worse. Five minutes before the prelims, I injured my hamstring and had to decide if I should continue on.”

After four days of competition, Team USA has a total of 11 medals, seven gold, three silver and one bronze in a highly contested race with Russia, next in line with 10 medals.

Michelle Carter of Texas tossed 15.61 meters/51 feet, 2.75 inches to move on to the women’s shot put finals. Kevin Craddock of San Pablo, Calif., ran a personal best time of 13.82 seconds to tie for the fastest qualifying time for the semi-finals in the 110m hurdles; Aries Merritt of Tennessee clocked 13.83 to win his heat and qualify as well. BYU’s Amy Menlove leaped 6.06m/19-10.75 followed by Southern California’s Michelle Sanford (5.98m/19-7.50) to qualify for women’s long jump. Both Sharon Day of Cal Poly Slo and Inika McPherson of Port Author, Texas cleared 1.79m/5-10.75 to qualify for the women’s high jump finals.

In the women’s 10,000m race walk finals, CW Post-bound Maria Michta finished in 51:42.95 while fellow teammate Catherine Hayes of Oconomowoc, Wisc., turned in a personal best time of 52:27.15. Penn State-bound Gayle Hunter is in sixth-place (3,298) in the women’s heptathlon.

Other Team USA members who competed today, but did not advance included Robert McDade of Villanova (54.70m/179-5) and Jens Kujacznski of Central Arizona (53.69m/176-1) in the qualifying round of the men’s discus; Sarah Bowman of Warrenton, Va., (4:36.13) and Jessica Eldridge of Oklahoma (4:36.48) in the women’s 1,500m semi-finals; Michaela Wallerstedt of Burke High (Omaha, Neb.) finished 12th (14.20m/46-7.25) in her group in the qualifier of the women’s shot put; Paul Hubbard of Wisconsin leaped 15.34m/50-4 followed by Michael Whitehead of Michigan (15.19m/49-10) in the men’s triple jump and Georgia Tech-bound Shantia Moss ran 14.16 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles semi-finals.

For more information on the 2004 IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships, including results from the Pre-World Meet, visit www.iaaf.org or USATF’s newly redesigned website at www.usatf.org.

Athlete Quotes:

Kerron Clement (World Juniors 400m hurdles champion) Florida:
I am just really excited about getting a gold medal. My race went well and I can’t complain. It was windy and I did not let affect me. I did stutter step on one hurdle, when I heard Brandon (Johnson) coming up on my shoulders.

This was a big PR for me. I was expecting this time but will try to improve since I’m still young and going into my sophomore year at Florida.

Shalonda Solomon (World Juniors 200m champion) South Carolina-bound:
I was going for the time in today’s race. I did not expect to set a championship record with 22.83, but I was going for 22 seconds. Everything in my training is directed towards improving in every competition I took part in. I’m very excited and knew I could do it.

Ronetta Alexander (World Juniors 100m hurdles champion) South Carolina:
I just had to focus on the race than the pain in my left hamstring. I had to be careful to make sure, I did not do anything to make it worse. Five minutes before the prelims, I injured my hamstring and had to decide if I should continue on.

I wanted to get out first and run hard to get the (finish) line first. This is such an amazing experience for me that I cannot even explain how happy I am right now. I never thought I would see myself here. I thought I represented my country well and hope to do this again. This is a dream come true. The (University South Carolina) Gamecocks are bringing back three world champions back to South Carolina.

Brandon Johnson (World Juniors 400m hurdles silver medalist) UCLA:
Today the race was easier for me because I let the race come to me. I got out pretty well since l’ve been doing what I normally do and not think about hitting any hurdles. This is the greatest feeling since I did not get any further than PAC 10 (championships). This is also a PR so I am extremely excited about that as well.

Shana Cox (200m finalist) Penn State:
This race was better than my race yesterday. My time was not as fast as it has been in the past. I worked on a lot of things that needed some work such as my start, as well as working on getting out the blocks faster and accelerating coming off the curve. Those are just the little things that make hundredths of a second difference off your time.