Shakima Wimbley Qualifies for World Championships
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Former University of Miami standout sprinter Shakima Wimbley is headed to the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.
The Hurricanes’ star was one of five members of the University of Miami track and field program that competed against their country’s best athletes over the weekend. The 2017 NCAA runner-up in the outdoor 400m earned a place on Team USA after a stellar showing in the 400m at the 2017 USATF Championships.
Wimbley finished fifth in the women’s 400m final, posting a career-best time of 50.36 seconds. The top six finishers in the 400m final will make up Team USA’s relay pool at the World Championships in August.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native’s path to London began on June 22, with a second place finish in her first round heat with a time of 51.58 seconds to automatically advance to the semifinals. A day later, Wimbley won Heat 2 of the women’s 400m semifinals with a time of 50. 53 seconds to advance to Saturday’s final, where she ran the fastest time of her career.
In addition to Wimbley, the Hurricanes had four other student-athletes in action over the weekend. Erika Voyzey, Brandon Taylor and Sherry Lubin competed at the 2017 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., while Henri Delauze raced at the Bahamian National Championships.
Taylor began competition on June 23, placing fourth overall in his semifinal heat in the men’s junior 100m with a time of 10.55 seconds. The freshman advanced to the finals later that day, where he finished sixth overall with a time of 10.59 seconds.
Lubin also competed on June 23, finishing third in flight one and 13th overall in the women’s junior shot put with a mark of 14.25m.
Voyzey was last Hurricane to begin competition in Sacramento, finishing sixth overall in the women’s junior high jump with a mark of 1.70m.
Delauze finished seventh overall in the men’s 400m final at the 2017 Bahamas Track and Field Nationals with a time of 47.22 seconds. The junior ran a time of 47.22 seconds to finish third in Heat 3 of preliminaries and advance to the final.
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