EUGENE, Ore. -- Former Lady Tiger All-American Muna Lee had already secured her spot on the United States team heading to Berlin for the World Championships later this summer with a silver-medal winning run in the 100-meter dash during Friday’s action at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at historic Hayward Field.
Lee added the 200-meter dash to her World Championships resume on Sunday afternoon with an impressive runner-up finish in the event to conclude this year’s USA Championships.
Lee, who qualified for the final by finishing third in her semifinal heat with a wind-aided time of 22.37 seconds earlier in the day, ran a great final race out of Lane 1 and crossed finish line with a wind-aided time of 22.13 to finish second to defending World Champion Allyson Felix (22.02).
Lee has emerged as one of the world’s premier sprinters with her performance during the last two seasons as she also represented the United States in both sprint races at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where she finished fifth in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200 meters. Lee has earned the right to represent the U.S. in the World Championships for the second time in her career.
The 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics will be held at the National Stadium in Berlin, Germany, later this summer from Aug. 15-23. It marks Team USA’s first return to Berlin since it played host to the infamous 1936 Olympic Games under the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler.
With her performance this weekend, Lee is the only American man or woman who will line up in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the World Championships.
“I knew that running in a tighter lane that I would have to drive a lot longer because I would have way more of the curve than anybody else, so I just took it like that,” Lee said. “No lane in the 200 scares me, so I just went out there and got out like I know how. My (personal) best was in Lane 1, so I can’t really say it’s a bad lane because I don’t have to worry about anybody behind me.”
Two former Tigers also raced in the final of the men’s 200-meter dash Sunday afternoon as Kelly Willie and Xavier Carter just missed earning a spot on the U.S. team heading to Berlin.
Carter was the fifth-place finisher in the 200-meter final after running a windy time of 20.09 with Willie following closely behind in sixth place at 20.30. Carter won his semifinal heat with a wind aided time of 20.28, while Willie crossed the finish line in third place in the same race with a time of 20.41. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Crawford won the 200-meter title in 19.73.
Former Lady Tiger hurdler Lolo Jones ran her first race in more than two months Saturday as she qualified for Sunday’s semifinal round of the 100-meter hurdles with a third-place finish in her first-round heat while recording a wind-aided time of 12.89.
Jones, who suffered a hamstring injury while competing at the Drake Relays on April 25, will not represent the United States at the IAAF World Championships this summer as she was unable to finish her semifinal race after hitting the fourth hurdle.
The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Champion and 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion will now prep herself for a slate of meets in Europe as she continues her season this summer.
“The problem was me and Michelle Perry locked arms over the fourth hurdle,” Jones said. “It has happened before because I go to the right and she goes to the left. So I tried to prepare for that by moving my blocks over some, but I guess I just veered and we locked arms and that threw me off balance. It’s certainly very disappointing to come here and not finish the race.
“I’m going to try my best to come back with some more time and put it all out there. All I can do is pick myself up and go to Europe and try to salvage my season.”
