Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo trounces women’s 400m for World Championships gold

Bahamian double Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo added another jewel to her crown on Friday by winning her first 400 metres title at the World Championships.

Miller-Uibo came charging down the back straight and had the lead coming out of the final turn before slowing through the finish with her rivals trailing in her wake at the Hayward Field track in Eugene, Oregon.

She crossed the line in a blazing 49.11, nearly half a second clear of Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino (49.60) with Sada Williams (49.75) of Barbados completing a Caribbean podium trio with bronze. “It has been a long time coming and the main thing for us this season was the World Championships and a gold medal,” said Miller-Uibo.

“The times didn’t matter to me. It was all about making sure we secured the gold medal. That’s one thing we were missing so I ran a very tactical race. “To get this one I’m really happy,” she said. “It’s a very tough race to run … I’m very happy with the performance.”

She had previously collected 400m silver in Beijing and Doha and 200m bronze in London, and she told reporters she planned to return to the 200m – her “first love”. Paulino had helped the Dominican Republic to gold in the mixed relay earlier in the meet and said she was thankful to leave the worlds with two medals around her neck.

“I am privileged to be able to represent my country and take it to the highest level,” she told reporters. “The Dominican Republic is a force to be reckoned with.”

Williams, 24, vowed to improve and said she was overwhelmed by the accomplishment. “I’m very happy that all medal winners are from the Caribbean,” she told reporters.

“I just wanted to go out there and run under 50 seconds, and if that got me on the podium, I would be happy. I can only imagine how happy they are at home.”