Four in women's 400m final

André Lowe, Special Projects Editor ‹ Sports

BEIJING, China:

Veteran Novlene Williams-Mills and Christine Day form part of the history-making quarter-mile quartet that sent Jamaica to the record books for being the first nation to qualify four athletes to a 400m final at any major global event at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

Shericka Jackson and Stephenie-Ann McPherson will join Williams-Mills and Day in tomorrow's final inside the Bird's Nest and both were feeling pretty good about their chance after their semi-final runs inside the Birds Nest.

For Williams-Mills, the bronze medal winner in 2007, getting to the finals seemed like too much of an ask a few months ago as a thyroid infection and other physical setbacks meant that she entered the championships coming off one of her worse seasons to date.

In fact, yesterday's 50.47 seconds run in the semi-finals was her first time running below 51 seconds this season, but the experienced campaigner, who hailed her teammates for their role in the history-making feat, says she is entering the final with a positive attitude with regards to the possibilities.

"Anytime you go into a World Championships getting to the final is a big accomplishment because there are so many people who are running and trying to make it to the final and the plus thing is we are the only country with four persons in the final," said Williams-Mills, a breast cancer survivor.

Productive year

Day has had a productive year on the track. From winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games to making her first 400m final at a World Championships after two attempts.

The wiry sprinter bowed out of the semi-final stage of the Berlin and Moscow editions of the World Championships in 2009 and 2013 and also failed to make the final at the 2012 Olympic Games.

"God is really good, my aim was to ensure I secured a spot in the final and I'm really happy that I was able to do that," said Day, who was nevertheless not too pleased with her execution. "I was just working on my technique and tonight I didn't think I executed properly, I know what I did wrong so I'm still happy."

Shericka Williams, who won silver in Berlin in 2009 was the last Jamaican medallist in the women's 400m at the World Championships.