USA’s newly crowned 60m Indoor champion, Barbara Pierre extended her dominance to the world stage, much to the delight of the home crowd as she ensured that she took victory ahead of tournament favourite, Dafne Schippers at the Oregon Convention Centre.
Incidentally, the World Leading time of 7.00s is jointly held by both athletes, with the American equaling the mark a month after Schippers set the pace in Berlin. Pierre set the Personal Best (PB) enroute winning the US Indoor Championships, challenging Schippers’ status as the best in the world this year.
The 29-year old was impeccable in Portland, posting exquisite performances in the heats and semis, before executing a perfect climax in the final. She ran the fastest time overall in the heats, clocking 7.07s to lead the way.
She improved on her time in the semis, lowering it to 7.06s to win Heat 1; her time was the second fastest overall after Elaine Thompson clocked a PB of 7.04s to win Heat 3, with Schippers coming a close 2nd in 7.08s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aZDxEQNjQY
The final was expected to be a close one, and lived up to billing, with Pierre storming to her first global title with an impressive time of 7.02s, while Schippers posted 7.04s in 2nd place.
The Dutch athlete’s late start was her nemesis, and despite being known to be a solid finisher, there wasn’t enough time to play catch up with the American who had a faster reaction time. Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson was pleased to go home with the Bronze medal at her first World Indoors outing.
Speaking about her victory, Pierre said, “It really means a lot to me because the field was STACKED! It was a great race; I loved it and enjoyed the competition”.
Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago was pretty outstanding, setting a National Indoor Record (NIR) of 7.09s in the heats, which she equaled in the semis; she eventually placed 4th in the final (7.11s).
Great Britain’s Asha Philip, Tori Bowie and Marie Josee Ta Lou of Cote d’Ivoire placed 5th, 6th and 7th respectively, while Dina Asher-Smith didn’t start the race.
