By Noel Francis
Tokyo, Japan – Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor produced a lifetime best to advance to the men’s 200m semifinal at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships. Taylor, who previously competed as a quarter-miler on the global stage, was stepping down in distance and rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport.
“When I saw the lane draw, it was mind-blowing, because it had four guys who were consistently making the 200m finals in my heat. I had the 7th fastest time, so I knew that I had to dig deep like I always do at a major championship, and I did that and qualified.”
Taylor, who ran a 20.26 PB, told reporters that things went according to plan. “I was elated. The plan was to come out and earn a personal best to make it to the next round and then go from there.”
Taylor admitted that he was extremely nervous before the race, and he received assurance from one of the sport’s biggest names. “I was a bit nervous in the call room, and Noah and DeGrasse (Andre) could see it,” Taylor reasoned. “They were talking to me to just relax and have some water. Noah was saying to me to drop my shoulders and take deep breaths. After I qualified, they came over and congratulated me and said ‘Welcome to the 200m, see you in the next round.”