UPDATE: ‘I just couldn’t hold on’- Kyron A. McMaster
McMaster clocked a Season’s Best 48.10 to finish fourth and was just beaten on the line by Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba who ran 48.03 to deny McMaster and the Virgin Islands a first IAAF World Championship medal.
Defending champion, Karsten Warholm of Norway stormed to victory in 47.42, with Antigua-born Rai Benjamin of the USA finishing second in 47.66.
The strategy
In a post-race interview with President of the BVI Athletics Association (BVIAA), Mr Steve E. Augustine, on September 30, 2019, Mr McMaster said the race was “pretty good” and that he wished he was able to medal.
“But running in lane two in such a hard field like that, coming off the end I just couldn’t hold on to something we thought that was secured in the bag.”
McMaster had run a strong first half and looked to be in contention for a medal in the homestretch after clearing the final hurdle.
“After hurdle ten I tried to hold on as much as possible but I just couldn’t hold it for much longer.”
McMaster said the strategy was to run through the last phase of the race as hard as possible, not only for a medal and also for a good time, “just to secure something positive in the end, win, lose or draw.”
The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 400m Hurdles champion almost missed out on the final in Doha after he was disqualified for a lane infringement in the semi-finals but was reinstated following an appeal.
Asked if that issue would have affected his performance, McMaster said: “I wouldn’t say it affected me but maybe if it didn’t happen things could have gone differently but we blocked that out immediately, we didn’t look at that as something that was in the pathway to securing a medal. The only thing that mattered was to execute in the final round as smooth as possible.”
In high spirits, McMaster said he is now looking forward to enjoying the off season before commencing preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
See previous article published September 30, 2019
Valiant McMaster narrowly misses out on medal in Doha
- finishes 4th in Men's 400m Hurdles Final @ IAAF World Championships
Virgin Islands star athlete Kyron A. McMaster, running in lane 2, produced a Season's Best run but was denied a medal on the finish line in the Men's 400m Hurdles Final at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, moments ago, September 30, 2019.
Competing against three of the four fastest men ever in that event, McMaster was in with a chance for bronze with some 25 metres to go but was pipped on the line by Abderrahman Samba of Qatar.
McMaster finished fourth in 48.10 while Samba crossed the line in 48.03.
The race was won by defending champion, Karsten Warholm of Norway in a time of 47.42.
Second was Rai Benjaman of the USA in 47.66.
It was a gutsy performance from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 400m Hurdles Champion, McMaster, who is coming off an injury and had to miss the Pan Am Games in Lima in August as a result.
McMaster's Personal Best in the 400M Hurdles is 47.54.
The next VI athlete in action at the IAAF World Championships will be Eldred Henry, in the Qualifying Round of the Men’s Shot Put on October 3, 2019.
The in-form Chantel E. Malone, the 2019 Pan Am Games champion, will then feature in the Qualifying Round of the Women’s Long Jump on October 5, 2019.
See final results of Men's 400m Hurdles:
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13 Responses to “UPDATE: ‘I just couldn’t hold on’- Kyron A. McMaster”
Better luck next time.
EVERYBODY running a 400m with or without hurdles slows down before the finish line.