BUDAPEST, Hungary – Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands captured silver in the men’s 400 meters hurdles while Sada Williams secured bronze for Barbados in the women’s 400m final, as Caribbean athletes flourished on day five of the World Athletics Championships.
Barbadian Sada Williams took bronze in the women’s 400 metres.The 26-year-old McMaster clocked 47.34 seconds to finish behind Norway’s Karsten Warholm who pulled off an historic third gold medal in the event when he crossed the line first in 46.89 on Wednesday night.
American Rai Benjamin was third in 47.56 while 19-year-old Jamaican Roshawn Clarke narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth placed finish in 48.07.
“It feels amazing. It’s my first world medal. I’ve been chasing this since 2017 so it’s a relief that after seven years, I got my medal,” McMaster said.
“I actually didn’t know I came second until I passed the finish line. My objectives were focused on executing my race and [coming] through the line.
“After I [came] through the line, I looked up at the [screen] and I saw Warholm, then I saw my name and I said ‘I’ve got the silver.’”
McMaster had a steady start out of lane eight with Alison Dos Santos of Brazil in lane nine, American Rai Benjamin in lane six and Warholm in five, all in contention.
Warholm brought the field off the final turn with Benjamin in second but McMaster produced a strong surge to take the silver.
“I just kept focussed. I just kept executing my race. I didn’t study the field, I studied my race,” said McMaster, who was forced out of last year’s World Championships in Eugene due to injury.
Meanwhile, Williams sped to a time of 49.60 to round out the podium as the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, a silver medallist in Eugene, took the title in a time of 48.76 – a new national record.
The 25-year-old Williams enjoyed a solid start, keeping pace in lane eight with early threat Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands in lane five and American Talitha Diggs in lane nine, down the backstretch.
Heading into the final 200 metres, Paulino unleashed her charge, catching Williams and leading into the final stretch.
Williams was fifth with 60 metres to run but also produced a strong surge to go past Klaver and Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, and finish just behind silver medalist Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland (49.57).
Earlier in the women’s sprint hurdles semi-finals, the Jamaican pair of Danielle Williams (12.50) and Ackera Nugent (12.60), along with Bahamian Devynne Charlton (12.49) notched strong performances to clinch their spots in Thursday’s final.
Charlton finished second in semi-final one behind American Kendra Harrison (12.33), Nugent was second in semi-final two behind Nigerian Tobi Amusan (12.56) while Williams was third in semi-final three behind winner, Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico (12.41).
