University of Tennessee Athletics
Kikaya Wins 400M Heat to Advance at World Championships
August 24, 2003 | Men's Track
Aug. 24, 2003
PARIS -- Former Vol Gary Kikaya (2002-03), competing for his native Congo, advanced to the 400m dash semifinals after winning his prelim heat at the IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Paris, France Saturday afternoon.
Kikaya sped around the oval at the Stade de France, capacity 62,500 for the World Championships, in 45.45, the fastest time of seven competitors in the third heat. Kikaya's 45.45 stood as the 11th-fastest qualifier overall. He enters the meet with a season-best 45.02, the 19th-fastest 400m man in the world in 2003. Jamaica's Michael Blackwood led the 52 sprinters in seven prelim heats with his 45.13 effort in the first heat.
With the preliminaries in the books, 24 400m specialists survive to suit up for Sunday's semifinal. Those advancing from the semifinal lace up the spikes in the finals Tuesday night in the City of Light.
