University of Tennessee Athletics
Kikaya Misses 400m Final Cut at World Championships
August 25, 2003 | Men's Track
Aug. 25, 2003
Saturday's Preliminary Results
PARIS -- Former Vol Gary Kikaya (2002-03), competing for his native Congo, ran his fastest time of the season but missed qualifying for the 400m dash finals by one-hundredth of a second at the IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Paris, France Sunday.
Kikaya covered the one-lap race at the Stade de France in 44.99, third in his heat and tied for the eighth-fastest time of the 24 competitors. In fact, one qualifier, France's Leslie Djhone made the finals cut with a slower semifinal time, 45.03, than Kikaya because of the advancement rules to the finals.
The semifinal rules state that the top-two finishers in each of the three heats plus the next two fastest qualifiers not in the top two of their heat qualify for the eight-man final. Kikaya stood third in his heat with a 44.99.
Jamaica's Michael Blackwood finished second in Kikaya's heat in 44.98, one-hundredth of a second faster than the former Vol to secure the second automatic qualifier from that third heat. Blackwood's lean at the tape, visible in the photo finish, made the difference.
The first heat was the fastest overall so the two time qualifiers, who didn't finish in the top two of a heat, came from that race. The last time qualifier, Grenada's Alleyne Francique--a former LSU star, got in the show with a 44.81 after finishing fourth in heat one.
The fastest semifinal time belonged to American Tyree Washington with a 44.60 effort to easily outpace a slow second heat. In more good news for the Americans, Jerome Young, 44.70, and Calvin Harrison, 44.71, reserved a lane in Tuesday's final with a 1-2 finish in the fast first heat.
While Kikaya didn't qualify for the World Championships finals the former Vol put on a good show in his first summer as a pro. Kikaya entered the meet with a previous season best of 45.02, the 19th-fastest man in the world. However, Kikaya's semifinal time of 44.99 stood tied for eighth in the best field the globe can offer. The last time Kikaya ran that fast came on the LSU track at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships where the Congo native won the national title with a school-record 44.53 steamer.
While Kikaya's run at the Worlds concludes, two more former Vols carry the torch in the meet Tuesday. Pole vaulter Tim Mack goes through qualifying Tuesday. Meanwhile, decathlete Tom Pappas begins his two-day trial Tuesday.
