LONDON – The 16th edition of the IAAF World Championships will involve 15 Aggies as they represent nine countries during the 10-day competition held from August 4 to 13 at London Stadium, which hosted the 2012 Olympic Games. Coverage of the meet will be available via NBC and NBC Sports Network.
Aggies competing at the World Championships for the United States include Aaliyah Brown (4×100 relay pool), Donavan Brazier (800m), Fred Kerley (400m, 4×400 relay pool), Shamier Little (400m Hurdles), and Ameer Webb (200m).
International Aggies include Fabrice Lapierre (Australia, long jump), Shavez Hart (Bahamas, 4×100 relay pool), Michael Bryan (Germany, 4×100 relay pool), Ioannis Kyriazis (Greece, javelin), Lindon Victor(Grenada, decathlon), Bralon Taplin (Grenada, 400m), Kadecia Baird (Guyana, 200m), Brenessa Thompson (Guyana, 100m, 200m), Simone Facey (Jamaica, 100m, 200m, 4×100 relay pool), and Jennifer Madu (Nigeria, 100m, 4×100 relay pool).
In addition there two members of the United States team – Ariana Ince (javelin) and Phyllis Francis (400m, 4×400 relay pool) – who train in College Station with Texas A&M assistant coaches.
The IAAF will have a series of medal ceremonies during the World Championships to reallocate medals following disqualifications of results from the original medalists after their sanction for anti-doping rule violations.
Texas A&M alum Jessica Beard will have her silver medal as a member of the United States 4×400 relay in 2013 upgraded to gold during a ceremony held on the opening evening session on Friday, August 4.
This change in medal color will make Beard a three-time gold medalist in World Championships 4×400 relays, joining the gold medals she earned in 2009 and 2011. Beard also has a silver medal from the 2015 World Championships.
During the 2015 World Championships held in Beijing, silver medal performances were turned in by Lapierre and Little in their respective individual events.
This will mark the fifth outdoor World Championships for the 33-year-old Lapierre, who placed fourth in 2009 and was runner-up in 2015. In three indoor World Championship meets, Lapierre won the 2010 title and claimed silver in 2016.
Little advanced to the final of the 400m hurdles in her first World Championship appearance, sliding in as the last time qualifier during the semifinal round. Running in lane two for the final, Little surprised the field with a 53.94 that earned her a silver medal behind the 53.50 winning time by Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic.
“Seeing how I managed to walk away with a Worlds silver after a terrible qualifying process in 2015, now I’m more consistent in the rounds,” noted Little. “Hopefully the outcome is even better this time, since I’ll be focused and know how to do it.
“I think my season has been going well, so far, so good. I’ve had some little rough patches since the U.S. Championships, but I’m learning from it and I’ll use that to help me accomplish what I want to achieve at Worlds.”
Little recorded a career best time of 52.75 as runner-up in the U.S. Championships to earn a position on the United States team. In improving her previous PR from 53.44, Little became the No. 9 performer on the all-time world list. Among the U.S. all-time list she is the No. 5 performer with the No. 7 performance.
“That was definitely a hot race,” recalled Little. “After running that fast, I almost felt like my season was done. I considered that final as the World Champs. I had to remind myself the season’s not done, I just ran fast. At that point and time I knew I still had so many races to go.”
Two weeks after her world-class hurdle time, Little ran an open 400m race in London during a Diamond League meet and finished third with a career best of 50.40. Her previous best had been 51.06 when she won the SEC title in 2014.
“Through the years my 400m time has consistently been within two seconds of my hurdle time,” noted Little. “I would use my 400m time as a marker to what I thought I could run in the hurdles. Now, this marker is telling me what I can do in the hurdles if I put everything together at the right time.”
Three Aggies enter the World Championships after claiming U.S. titles this season. The trio includes Webb (200m), Kerley (400m) and Brazier (800m).
Kerley, undefeated in the 400m this season, lowered his career best from 45.10 in 2016 to a 43.70 collegiate record this season. In the process Kerley swept 400m indoor and outdoor titles at the SEC and NCAA Championships prior to winning the 400m title at the USATF Championships.
Since his U.S. title victory, Kerley has raced over 200m in a couple of Diamond League meets. On the London track, Kerley produced a career best of 20.24 as runner-up to Webb’s 20.13 victory.
Kerley enters the World Championships with the second fastest time recorded this season as his 43.70 only trails a 43.62 produced by South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, the defending 2015 world champion who won the 2016 Olympic title with a world record of 43.03 from lane eight.
Also entered in the 400m is Bralon Taplin, who finished seventh in the Rio Olympics final and finished fourth in the 2016 World Indoor final. Taplin produced a career best of 44.38 last season and has a season best of 45.08 from his lone outdoor 400m race in 2017.
Brazier claimed his USATF victory in the 800m with a time of 1:44.14. He then posted a 1:43.95 as runner-up in the London Diamond League meet and placed third at Rabat with a 1:44.62. Those times are the second through fourth fastest times Brazier has ever produced, trailing only the 1:43.55 he ran in 2016 to win the NCAA title as a freshman.
Webb won the USATF title in a season best of 20.09 into a 2.3 headwind. After winning the London Diamond League meet in 20.13, Webb was runner-up in Rabat with a 20.18.
Lindon Victor, who broke the collegiate record twice this season, has the fourth best decathlon score in the world for 2017 with his national record of 8,539 points. He will represent Grenada along with his brother, Kurt Felix, who produced a career best of 8,509 in June that ranks sixth best on the 2017 world list. Victor will face an international field he experienced last season during the Olympics in Rio.
“I’m excited, and I think I’ll be better than I was last year in Rio,” said Victor. “I’ve learned a lot this season and hopefully I can get one more good decathlon out of my body. Being the collegiate record holder, I feel like I’m heading into the World Championships representing all of the decathletes in college. I’ve proven myself on the collegiate level, now it’s time to prove myself on the professional circuit.
“It’s always fun competing with my brother. He’s had a healthy season and I’m excited to see what he is going to produce in London. Hopefully, he can help me step up my game a little bit. If both of us are on the podium that will really be awesome.”
Ioannis Kyriazis ranks sixth in the world this season with a javelin throw of 288-1 (88.01), which was the world leading mark from the end of March to early May. Undefeated through the collegiate season in winning a third SEC title and his first NCAA championship, Kyriazis has placed second in a pair of summer meets as he represented Greece in the European Team Championships and European U23 Championships.
Among the Aggie female sprinters, Simone Facey will be entered in the 100m, 200m and is part of the Jamaica 4×100 relay pool. Brenessa Thompson will compete in the 100m and 200m, Jennfier Madu races in the 100m and is part of Nigeria’s 4×100 relay pool while Kadecia Baird is among the 200m field. Aaliyah Brown, who anchored a U.S. sprint relay squad to victory recently in Monaco, will be part of the American 4×100 relay pool.
On the men’s side Michael Bryan and Shavez Hart are part of 4×100 relay pools for Germany and the Bahamas, respectively.
Texas A&M Athletes – 2017 IAAF World Championships
United States
Aaliyah Brown 4×100 relay pool
Donavan Brazier 800m
Fred Kerley 400m, 4×400
Shamier Little 400m Hurdles
Ameer Webb 200m
Australia
Fabrice Lapierre Long Jump
Bahamas
Shavez Hart 4×100 relay pool
Germany
Michael Bryan 4×100 relay pool
Greece
Ioannis Kyriazis Javelin
Grenada
Lindon Victor Decathlon
Bralon Taplin 400m
Guyana
Kadecia Baird 200m
Brenessa Thompson 100m, 200m
Jamaica
Simone Facey 100m, 200m, 4×100 relay pool
Nigeria
Jennifer Madu 100m, 4×100 relay pool
2017 IAAF World Championships – Schedule for Texas A&M Athletes
(London time listed first, followed by Central time)
Friday, August 4
7:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. M Long Jump Qual Fabrice Lapierre
Saturday, August 5
10:45 a.m. 4:45.a.m. M 400m Heats Fred Kerley, Bralon Taplin
11:45 a.m. 5:45 a.m. W 100m Heats Simone Facey, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson
12:45 p.m. 6:45 a.m. M 800m Heats Donavan Brazier
8:05 p.m. 2:05 p.m. M Long Jump FINAL (Fabrice Lapierre)
Sunday, August 6
7:10 p.m. 1:10 p.m. W 100m Semi (Simone Facey, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson)
7:40 p.m. 1:40 p.m. M 400m Semi (Fred Kerley, Bralon Taplin)
9:15 p.m. 3:15 p.m. M 800m Semi (Donavan Brazier)
9:50 p.m. 3:50 p.m. W 100m FINAL (Simone Facey, Jennifer Madu, Brenessa Thompson)
Monday, August 7
6:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. M 200m Heats Ameer Webb
7:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. W 400H Heats Shamier Little
Tuesday, August 8
7:20 p.m. 1:20 p.m. W 200m Heats Kadecia Baird, Simone Facey, Brenessa Thompson
8:35 p.m. 2:35 p.m. W 400H Semi (Shamier Little)
9:35 p.m. 3:35 p.m. M 800m FINAL (Donavan Brazier)
9:50 p.m. 3:50 p.m. M 400m FINAL (Fred Kerley, Bralon Taplin)
Wednesday, August 9
8:55 p.m. 2:55 p.m. M 200m Semi (Ameer Webb)
Thursday, August 10
7:05 p.m. 1:05 p.m. M Javelin Qual A Ioannis Kyriazis
8:35 p.m. 2:35 p.m. M Javelin Qual B Ioannis Kyriazis
9:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. W 200m Semi (Kadecia Baird, Simone Facey, Brenessa Thompson)
9:35 p.m. 3:35 p.m. W 400H FINAL (Shamier Little)
9:50 p.m. 3:50 p.m. M 200m FINAL (Ameer Webb)
Friday, August 11
10:00 a.m. 4:00 a.m. M Dec 100m Lindon Victor
11:05 a.m. 5:05 a.m. M Dec Long Jump Lindon Victor
12:55 p.m. 6:55 a.m. M Dec Shot Put Lindon Victor
5:00 p.m. 11:00 a.m. M Dec High Jump Lindon Victor
8:45 p.m. 2:45 p.m. M Dec 400m Lindon Victor
9:50 p.m. 3:50 p.m. W 200m FINAL (Kadecia Baird, Simone Facey, Brenessa Thompson)
Saturday, August 12
10:00 a.m. 4:00 a.m. M Dec 110H Lindon Victor
10:35 a.m. 4:35 a.m. W 4×100 Heats (Aaliyah Brown, Simone Facey, Jennifer Madu – relay pool)
10:55 a.m. 4:55 a.m. M 4×100 Heats (Michael Bryan, Shavez Hart – relay pool)
11:00 a.m. 5:00 a.m. M Dec Discus A Lindon Victor
11:50 a.m. 5:50 a.m. M 4×400 Heats (Fred Kerley – relay pool)
12:20 p.m. 6:20 a.m. M Dec Discus B Lindon Victor
2:15 p.m. 8:15 a.m. M Dec Pole Vault Lindon Victor
5:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. M Dec Javelin A Lindon Victor
6:55 p.m. 12:55 p.m. M Dec Javelin B Lindon Victor
8:15 p.m. 2:15 p.m. M Javelin FINAL (Ioannis Kyriazis)
9:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. W 4×100 FINAL (Aaliyah Brown, Simone Facey, Jennifer Madu – relay pool)
9:50 p.m. 3:50 p.m. M 4×100 FINAL (Michael Bryan, Shavez Hart – relay pool)
Sunday, August 13
9:15 p.m. 3:15 p.m. M 4×400 FINAL (Fred Kerley – relay pool)
TV coverage – World Championships
Day 1, August 4 – NBC Sports Network (6 p.m. Central)
Day 2, August 5 – NBC Sports Network (4 a.m.), NBC (3 p.m.)
Day 3, August 6 – NBC Sports Network (4 a.m.), NBC (2:30 p.m.)
Day 4, August 7 – NBC Sports Network (1 p.m.)
Day 5, August 8 – NBC Sports Network (1 p.m.)
Day 6, August 9 – NBC Sports Network (1 p.m.)
Day 7, August 10 – NBC Sports Network (1 p.m.)
Day 8, August 11 – NBC Sports Network (4 a.m.)
Day 9, August 12 – NBC Sports Network (4 a.m.), NBC (2 p.m.)
Day 10, August 13 – NBC Sports Network (4 a.m.), NBC (4 p.m.)
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics