June 28, 2009
EUGENE,Ore. - Diamond Richardson and Jessica Ubanyionwu both qualified for the 2009 Pan Am Junior Championships Sunday at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Both Richardson and Ubanyionwu posted second-place finishes in the junior women's 400m and triple jump finals, respectively.
Richardson finished second in the final of the junior women's 400m with a time of 54.13. Ubanyionwu finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 12.88m. The second-place finishes qualifies Richardson and Ubanyionwu for the 2009 Pan Am Junior Championships July 31-August 2 in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Former Baylor All-American and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Jeremy Wariner finished 16th in the semifinals of the 200m with a time of 20.83. On the women's side, Tiffany Townsend posted a time of 23.03 in the 200m semifinals, finishing 12th.
In the finals of the 3000m women's steeplechase, Erin Bedell finished 10th with a time of 10:08.80. DeAna Carson finished eighth in the women's long jump final with a leap of 6.41m.
Stephanie Morgan finished fourth at 10:12.17 in the junior women's 3000m finals.
Late Saturday, Sanya Richards qualified for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Aug. 15-23 in Berlin, Germany. She won the 400m finals with a time of 50.05.
"I don't think this was one of my best races, just by looking at the time, but the wind has been tough a Hayward all week," Richards said. "I just wanted to run smart and make sure I brought it home to win. Now I'm ready to move on and focus on Berlin."