By Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor
Jamaica's Brigitte Foster hurdles during the 100 metres hurdles heats at the 9th World Athletics Championships in the Stade de France at Saint-Denis near Paris yesterday. Foster won her heat in 12.67 seconds. - Reuters
PARIS, France
HIGH JUMPER Germaine Mason made a gallant attempt to give Jamaica its first medal on the third day of the Ninth IAAF World Athletics Championships here last night but had to settle for fifth spot in a top class field.
The gold medalist was South Africa's Jacques Freitag, the man who relegated Mason to the silver medal position at the World Junior Championships in Chile three years ago. Freitag won with a season-best 2.35m.
Silver went to Sweden's Stefan Holm, 2.32m, the 2001 world indoor champion, while third was Jamaica-born Mark Boswell of Canada.
Mason cleared 2.29m at the first attempt and harboured hopes of getting a medal at his first senior World Championships after getting silver, then bronze, at junior level.
He, however, failed to get any higher and Holm cleared 2.32m on his second attempt and Boswell who had passed him at 2.29m went over 2.32m on his third attempt.
"I am very disappointed at not getting a medal," Mason, who has a personal best of 2.34m, said later.
"The competition was hard but my problem was I did not get my run-up correct early. It became better as the competition went on but I just did not perform as well as I could."
Lorraine Fenton, one of the favourites for gold in the women's 400m, was the only Jamaican to advance from the semi-finals of that event.
Fenton, who appears to be very focused and has refused to speak to reporters here, clocked 50.45 for second in semi-final two behind Bahamian Tonique Williams who won in 50.43. Those were the two fastest times of the round.
Defending champion Amy Mbacke Thiam of Senegal won heat one in 50.78 ahead of Russia's Svetlana Pospelova who clocked 50.84. Jamaica's Ronetta Smith was sixth in 51.39. The Jamaica-born American champion Sanya Richards was fourth in 51.32 and is also out of Wednesday's final.
Mexico's Ana Guevara topped heat three in 50.68 as veteran Sandie Richards ran out of steam in the straight and placed fifth in 51.80.
Earlier Allison Beckford failed to reach 400m hurdles final after placing sixth in 55.76 in the second semi-final won in 53.57 by world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia. Australia's former world junior champion won the other semi-final in 53.77 from American Sandra Glover, 53.90.
The women's 100m hurdles went very much to form in the early rounds. World number two Brigitte Foster, Vonette Dixon and Lacena Golding-Clarke all booked spots in tomorrow's semi-finals.
Foster led all qualifiers with a 12.67 clocking in heat two and appears ready to challenge favourite Gail Devers who won the fifth and final heat in 12.76.
"I felt real comfortable," Foster said. "I really did not try to run too hard," she added.
Dixon advanced as one of the fastest losers after placing fifth in the opening heat in 13.09. American Miesha McKelvy won in 12.94.
Golding-Clarke ran a strong race to get second behind Canada's Perdita Felicien in heat four. Heat three went to another American, Jenney Adams, in 12.74.
The eagerly awaited men's 100 metres final ended in a Caribbean one, two.
Commonwealth champion Kim Collins won in 10.07 ahead of world junior champion Darrel Brown of Trinidad & Tobago, 10.08 and Britain's Darren Campbell, also 10.08. World record holder Tim Mongomery was fifth in 10.11.
Jamaica's Dwight Thomas had earlier dropped out in the semi-finals with a season-best 10.19 for fifth. He did have the satisfaction of beating defending champion Maurice Green who finished eighth and then clutched his hamstring and Trinidad and Tobago's Ato Boldon who had earlier beaten him in their eventful second round heat on Sunday.
