By Amy Tennery
EUGENE, Ore. (Reuters) – Jamaican trio Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson rolled through the women’s 100 metres heats at the World Championships on Saturday but it was Briton Dina Asher-Smith advancing with the quickest time.
Nearly a year since she produced the second-fastest 100m of all time at the springy Hayward Field, back-to-back Olympic sprint double champion Thompson-Herah won her heat in 11.15, easing up at the 60m mark.
World leader Fraser-Pryce also preserved her energy, winning her heat in 10.87 while Jackson, the other member of the trio who took all three Tokyo Olympics podium spots, came home first in her heat in 11.02.
“The first one is usually one of the hardest because you want to make sure everything is working well and you qualify,” said Fraser-Pryce. “I wanted to qualify as easy as possible.”
The fastest time of the day went to Doha silver medallist Asher-Smith, who came within one hundredth of a second of the British record in 10.84.
“I had some very talented and up-and-coming women in my heat so I had to execute my race but conserve a little bit,” said Asher-Smith, the Doha 200m champion.
“I wasn’t thinking about time but was happy to win my heat. I need to go and recover to run fast with the girls tomorrow. In this situation, you just have to think about winning, no matter what the time.”
A bronze medallist three years ago, Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast won her heat in 10.92, going under 11 seconds for the first time this season, edging American Twanisha Terry, who received loud cheers from the home crowd as the United States hosts its first worlds.
“I wasn’t expecting that type of welcome. It’s amazing to be here on U.S. soil,” said Terry.
Her compatriots Aleia Hobbs and national champion Melissa Jefferson also advanced to Sunday’s semi-final.
New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs advanced with a national record of 11.08, a day after compatriot Edward Osei-Nketia broke his father’s national record on the men’s side in 10.08.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Eugene, Oregon; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
