Hima makes semis as fastest runner

Tampere (Finland), July 10 

Indian quarter-miler Hima Das made it to the semifinals of the women’s 400m as the fastest runner in the heats on the opening day of the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships. 

The 18-year-old clocked 52.25 seconds to win the heat and lead the time charts. Running in lane No. 3, Hima beat Stacey-Ann Williams of Jamaica (52.71) in the fastest of the five heats. 

Jisna Mathew, another Indian in the fray, also qualified for the semifinals by winning the fifth heat in 54.32 seconds. American Taylor Manson, a medal contender, finished overall second with a time of 52.68 seconds. 

Elsewhere, M Shreeshankar finished fourth in the qualification round of the men’s long jump event with an effort of 7.68m and made it to the final round. In the men’s shot put, Asish Bholothia finished eighth in the qualification round with a personal best of 18.62m but that was not enough to make it to the final round. — PTI