ATHENS, Greece — Watauga graduate Brenda Taylor and Appalachian State grad Melissa Morrison both advanced in their events in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Taylor reached the finals of the 400-meter hurdles after surviving two qualifying heats. Morrison is in the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles after winning her first qualifying heat. Taylor, who prepped at Watauga and graduated college from Harvard, finished fourth in the semifinal heat on Sunday. Running in the first heat, Taylor finished with a time of 55.02 seconds. It turned out to be the slower of the two heats. In the second heat, Fani Halkia of Greece set an Olympic record with a time of 52.77. Yuliya Pechenkina of Russia won the first heat and finished with the second-fastest overall time of 53.31. “I didn’t see the other runner on the outside,” Taylor said on Press Point.com “I didn’t want it to be that close. I really wanted to qualify first or second and it was closer than I wanted. You learn from the early races, but you’re just thinking about qualifying. I know I have to come out faster in the finals. That’s the plan.” Fellow American Sheena Johnson was third in the first heat with a time of 54.32 and qualified. Taylor’s semifinal time was the 11th fastest overall. Taylor qualified for the semifinals by finishing fifth overall in the first-round of qualifying. She turned in a time of 54.72, which was second in her heat. Morrison, who won a bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Games, won her first heat and turned in the fourth-fastest time of the preliminaries with a 12.76. She edged Delloreen Ennis-London of Jamacia. “I felt really good physically. I had very good start,” Morrison said on Press Point.com “My first two hurdles were good and I just maintained what I did coming out of the blocks.” Morrison will compete in the semifinals at noon today. Should she advance, the finals are Thursday. |