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Wildcats Compete at Track and Field World Championships in Beijing

By Marisol Diaz

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Recap of the Beijing World Championships for Track & Field; Two UofA athletes, Pau Tonnesen and Sage Watson, compete hoping to win gold.

The championships began with a bang on August 22 and will conclude on the 30th of this month.  I’ve definitely watched some exciting races and seen some upsets these past couple of days!

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Some exciting news for you wildcat fans is that TWO of UofA’s athletes are competing in the championships. First, here’s a quick recap of what’s happened so far this week:

No surprise to me to see Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin, and Tyson Gay in the men’s 100 meter final. It WAS a pleasant surprise though to see 20 year old Junior World Champion Trayvon Bromell in the final as well. Though Bolt struggled in the first heat as well as semi-final, he easily took the gold for Jamaica with 9.79 seconds on the clock. Gatlin who took the silver. Here’s his interview after a disappointing and emotional finish.

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Allyson Felix took gold for the 400 meter! Is she going for the American record? I think so! And I also think she’s going to get there really soon. We’ll see what she does this year.

I have to say it was really cool to see Christian Taylor win gold in the triple jump and come SO CLOSE to the all-time world record. I can’t wait to see how he does in the Diamond League this upcoming season.

Another surprise in the women’s 1500 meter final. With only 600 meters left, Jenny Simpson began to falter. Her shoe became loose and she was forced to kick it off! Luckily, it didn’t hit any of the runners behind her. Unfortunately, she ended in fifth place which was a disappointment.

One last thing that happened that I’m pretty sure I gasped OUT LOUD when I saw was a cameraman on a segway accidentally run into Usain Bolt after his 200 meter win! Luckily he was unhurt because that could have seriously put a stop to his career.

Now, let’s talk about the really exciting news that not just one, but TWO UofA athletes are competing this week in Beijing!

The first, Sage Watson, already competed in the 400 meter hurdles and is representing Canada. She was in the second heat in the semi-finals. Even though she didn’t make it through to the finals, Sage still remained positive.

And she’s stayed focused on what’s left to prepare for in the championships.

I’m also glad that she’s managed to enjoy her time in Beijing!

Here’s one more of her tweets showing off her Arizona pride.

https://twitter.com/SageWats/status/636866447789068288

Sage is set to compete in the women’s 4×400 relay on Saturday. Good luck!

Pau Tonnesen, the second wildcat competing this week is a senior and is representing Spain. After taking the runner-up position for Pac-12 title this year in the decathlon, he competed in the European cup where he placed second in the same event. Now he’s in the world championships! I have to say he’s already accomplished so much and that’s just what he’s done this year.

Now Pau is going up against some of the best, including Ashton Eaton who took the gold in the 2012 Olympics. The Decathlon will start this Friday so be sure to watch this Pac-12 champion compete!

The 2015 track & field world championships is well underway! To watch the wildcats compete and see the rest of the championships, watch at Universal Sports. Here is the schedule of events.

BEARDOWN!

Jun 11, 2015; Eugene, OR, USA; Pau Tonnesen of Arizona runs 14.87 in the decathlon 110m hurdles in the 2015 NCAA Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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