Jamaica's Jodi-Ann Muir, BVI's Ashley Kelly and Haiti's Marlena Wesh, advance to the 400m final
IRAPUATO, Mexico, July 7—Ashley Kelly became the territory’s first female to advance to a NACAC U23 final, when she placed third in her 400m heat to secure one of the automatic qualifying positions.
The Illinois graduate had a time of 53.56 seconds and has drawn lane 7 for this afternoon’s final.
Kelly, who ran a season’s best of 52.77 seconds, will be seeking to eclipse her personal best of 52.71 seconds and meet the Olympic Games B qualifying standard of 52.35 seconds.
Britney Wattley who was scheduled for the 100m pulled out of the heat and will join Kelly in the rounds of the 200m on Sunday.
High Jumper Keron Stoute—in his second NACAC U23 Championships—will also see action in his pet event on Sunday.
Also Sunday, Chantel Malone and Karene King will compete in the Aileen Meagher Track Classic in Halifax, Canada, in their last opportunity to qualify for London.
Malone ran 52.82 seconds to finish third in the 400m on in Thursday’s Moncton Hub City Classic.
She has a season’s best of 52.48 and will try to equal her personal best of 52.35 or better today, to qualify for London.
King will run the 200m and is coming off a 23.53 seconds run during last week’s Jamaica National Championships. She has a personal and seasons best of 23.43 and needs a mark of 23.30 or better to book her ticket to London.
Earlier in the season, she ran 23.27 seconds, but the race had a +2.1 meters per seconds tailwind, which is over the allowable, 2.0 mps.