DAEGU, South Korea – Running in the final of the 400 meters at the IAAF World Championships on Tuesday, Texas A&M sprinter Tabarie Henry finished seventh with a time of 45.55 seconds.
A winning time of 44.60 was produced by Kirani James of Grenada as he passed defending champion LaShawn Merritt of the United States, who posted a 44.63 for the silver medal, in the in final stages of the race. Belgium’s Kevin Borlee claimed third place in 44.90.
“I was just a little thrown off my race,” noted Henry. “I believe I was too comfortable that I made it to the finals, which made my hunger go away. In the semifinal I was still hungry to make the finals. So, I blame myself for not showing up in the finals. But, it’s also been a long year so I’m glad I made it this far.”
This marked the second final Henry has contested at the World Championships, placing fourth in 2009 and seventh in 2011, after reaching the semifinals of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Following an off day on Wednesday at the World Championships, action resumes Thursday with three Aggies in action.
Jeneba Tarmoh competes in the opening round of the 200 meters for the United States at 8:50 p.m. (Wednesday local time) and will have a semifinal race, if she advances, at 5:25 a.m. (Thursday local time).
Fabrice Lapierre of Australia contests long jump qualifying at 9:35 p.m. (Wednesday) while Demetrius Pinder will run a leg of the Bahamas 4 x 400 relay in the prelims at 10:30 p.m. (Wednesday). Finals for the long jump and men’s 4 x 400 will occur on Friday.