By Claire Lew
Hurdles coach Felix Sanchez won second place in the 400-meter hurdles last Tuesday at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. The Championships, which are held biennially, took place this summer in Osaka, Japan.
Sanchez had the fastest time in his first round heat on Aug. 25 and in his semifinals heat on Aug. 26.
His finals time of 48.01 fell 0.40 seconds short of the winning time, which won Kerron Clement of the United States the gold. Although he was also born in the U.S., Sanchez chooses to run for the Dominican Republic.
Sanchez has won the gold medal for the 400m hurdles in the 2001 and 2003 Championships, held in Edmonton and Paris Saint-Denis, respectively.
He also won the gold for the same event at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the first gold medal for the Dominican Republic.
Sanchez has since struggled with a hamstring injury during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. His health problems prevented him from finishing his finals heat at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
âI showed great glimpses of my old self and no one figured I could get a medal. That was great motivation for me,â Sanchez said in an article of the Press-Telegram. âI ran a great race and felt strong. It just wasnât my turn this year.â
