Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took a step closer to an unprecedented third world championship 100 metres title when she stormed into Monday’s final with the fastest time of the semi-finals.
The 28-year-old double Olympic champion powered home in 10.82 seconds to lead Nigeria`s Blessing Okagbare (10.89) through from the opening heat.
American Tori Bowie confirmed her status as a genuine contender in her first major championships since she started focusing on sprinting as she won the second heat in 10.87 from Trinidad and Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste (10.90).
Former heptathlete Dafne Schippers is another new convert to the sprints and she continued her sizzling recent form with a Dutch national record of 10.83 giving her victory in the third semi-final.
Veronica Campbell-Brown, the 2007 champion, finished second behind Schippers in 10.89 to reach her fourth world 100 metres final.
The 33-year-old will be joined by fellow Jamaican Natasha Morrison (10.96) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye (10.97) who qualified with the fastest times outside the top two in each heat.
There was disappointment for American English Gardner who had run the second best time in the world this year (10.79) behind Fraser-Pryce but could only manage sixth in the opening heat in 11.13.
