University of Tennessee Athletics
Trotter Fifth in 400m at World Championships
August 29, 2007 | Women's Track
OSAKA, Japan -- Former University of Tennessee standout Dee Dee Trotter came away with a fifth-place finish Wednesday in the finals of the 400-meter dash at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships at Nagai Stadium.
Trotter, the 2007 U.S. Outdoor champion, circled the track in 50.17 seconds to cross the line just behind fourth-place finisher Ana Guevara (50.16) of Mexico.?? Great Britain???s Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders took the gold and silver medals in 49.61 and 49.65, respectively, while Jamaica???s Novlene Williams grabbed the bronze in 49.66.?? Mary Wineberg, the only other American to make the final, placed eighth at 50.96.
???I???m not disappointed, if that???s any consolation,??? Trotter said.?? ???I actually ran a very good race tonight. I ran to the best of my ability. Of course, I would like to be first. I???ll take what I get and use it as a motivation for next year.
???I still haven???t had a real chance to go through the race in my mind to know what happened. I would like to see it, but I feel I gave it 100 percent. When you do that, you don???t have any regrets.???
In the pool for the U.S. 4x400m relay, Trotter will wait until Sunday to possibly compete in that event. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning 4x4 in 2004 and aided the U.S. to gold at the World Championships and Pan Am Games in 2003.
In the opening round of the 1500 meters, three-time U.S. Outdoor champion Treniere Clement cruised to second in heat three with a time of 4:10.85.?? Clement, who lives in Knoxville and trains with Lady Vol Head Coach J.J. Clark, will run in the semifinals on Friday, hoping to advance to Sunday???s final.?? Another American, Erin Donohue, also advanced and will join Clement in the semis.
???My goal was to make it back (advance to the next round), and that???s what I did,??? Clement said. ???I watched the men???s races, and I knew it would be like that. My coach and I worked on a lot of negative splitting of going out slow and coming back really hard. I feel I???m prepared. My coach prepared me for that.
???Coach said if you run inside, there will be an opening. You just got to know your surroundings, wait until it opens and make your move. I tried to stay calm. It was hard to. The opening came late in the race, in the last 300. There was a group that went, and I just tried to stay in contact. I tried to kick as hard as I could in the last 100. I feel really good. It builds up my confidence.???
