LONDON – Arkansas men's track and field assistant coach Doug Case said on Monday that rising senior Kemar Mowatt could shake things up in the 400-meter hurdles finals at the 2017 IAAF World Championships (Worlds) in London -- he was not wrong.
The 2017 Southeastern Conference 400 hurdle champion finished just shy of the Worlds podium, placing fourth in 48.99 on a cold and wet Wednesday evening at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
"I'd hoped to do better," Mowatt said. "But fourth place, I can't complain."
A 2015 transfer from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Mowatt joined the Razorbacks with a personal best of 51.13 in the 400 hurdles. Over the last two years of training under coach Case, Mowatt has improved by 2.64 seconds, developing from a consistent 51-second hurdler to a consistent 48-second hurdler.
https://twitter.com/JamaicaOlympics/status/895385068792934402
One of only two collegians to make it to the event finals, Mowatt refused to let his long competition season define his race. The 2017 NCAA bronze medalist glided through the rain, attacking every hurdle in an effort to close on the race leaders but fell .47 seconds short in his quest for a medal.
"Honestly, I thought I could've won that race but it didn't go as I'd wanted it to go," Mowatt said. "I'm just grateful because a lot of people didn't make it to finals so I should be thankful."
Up Next
110-meter hurdles World Champion Omar McLeod will take on the 4-x-100-meter relay preliminary round as a member of Team Jamaica. The 4-x-100 relay prelims will be held on Saturday, Aug. 12 at 4:55 a.m. CT. If Team Jamaica advances out of the prelims, McLeod will race for his second gold of the week later that day at 3:50 p.m.
Fellow Jamaican ProHog Kemoy Campbell will look to collect a medal of his own that same day; taking on the 5,000 meter finals at 2:20 p.m., Campbell is the first Jamaican to qualify for a world championships final in the 5,000.
"I went out there and treated it was like it was a final even though I know I'm going to have run much, much harder in the final," Campbell said. "I'm definitely prepared for that and I definitely think I did what I was supposed to."