Sage Watson earns herself a spot to represent Canada in the 400m hurdle finals

Sage Watson just secured her spot in the final round of the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London. The Canadian hurdler ran a strong one on the track in the semi-finals getting herself into second place to run 55.05. 

The only woman to beat her in her heat (which was the third heat in the semi-final round) was Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. Muhammad stopped the clock at 55.00 as Watson slipped across the line moments after. As the announcers pointed out, Muhammad ran on-point as expected but Watson’s performance was quite a wow-factor. 

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— CanadianRunning (@CanadianRunning) August 8, 2017

In this event, the heats run with the first two finishing advancing automatically. From there, the next two fastest athletes also get the go-ahead. The finals are scheduled for Thurs. Aug. 10 at 4:35 p.m. Eastern Time. 

For full results of the semi-finals, see here. 

Watson headed to London with her mind focused on representing Canada in two events though. The 400m hurdles are her only individual event. She will also run the 4 x 400m relay on Aug. 12 with the finals scheduled for Aug. 13. 

With a 2nd place finish in her heat, ?? Sage Watson qualifies for the 400m hurdles semis on Tuesday at #London2017 https://t.co/heRX9EC7fs pic.twitter.com/bJIGFb5Fxf

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 7, 2017

Watson is no stranger to performing on the world’s stage. She participated in these exact two events last year at the Olympics in Rio. She and her team placed fourth in the relay. 

Originally from Medicine Hat, Alta., Watson is based from Arizona – where she moved to run for The University of Arizona. Her PB in the 400m hurdles is 54.52. The Canadian record is just a smidge faster than that at 54.39. Many Canadians feel that it’s only a matter of time until we see Watson claim that record as her own.