Former UK star Abby Steiner qualifies for 200 meter final at World Athletics Championships

Former Kentucky star track star Abby Steiner is one step closer to a world championship.

Steiner, a 2022 UK grad, qualified for the women's 200 meter final with her second-place finish in a semifinal heat Tuesday night during the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Steiner posted a time of 22.15 seconds during Tuesday's third qualifying heat. That's slower than the first-place time of 21.77 seconds the Dublin, Ohio, native posted to qualify for the global competition at the USA Track & Field outdoor championships in late June — the fastest women's 200 time in the world this year.

Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the qualifying heat with a time of 21.82.

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"I knew she was going to pull me along," Steiner said of Fraser-Pryce during a postrace interview with FloTrack. "She's the best 100-meter runner in the world, so my goal was really just to stay with her. I knew she was gonna get out and hold on, so I'm just doing my best to kinda be within striking distance and finish in that top two."

The women's 200 final is scheduled for 10:35 p.m. Thursday at Hayward Field, which is located on the University of Oregon's campus. Steiner, who formally stepped onto the professional stage last week by signing with global sports brand PUMA, enters the race as the eighth seed.

"A goal of mine coming into this was just (to) make it to the final," Steiner said. "Once you have a lane, anything can happen."

In mid-June, Steiner broke the collegiate record in the women's 200 while winning her first outdoor NCAA title for Kentucky with a time of 21.80 seconds. She and UK teammates Karimah Davis, Dajour Miles and Alexis Holmes also took home a national title in the 4x400-meter relay.

Steiner in February broke the American indoor 200-meter record (22.09 seconds) at the Southeastern Conference championships. It was the second-fastest time in the indoor event ever, behind only Jamaican Merlene Ottey's 21.87 world record.

Steiner also holds the NCAA indoor record for the 300-meter with a time of 35.8 seconds.

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: UK's Abby Steiner qualifies for 200 final at track world championships