Oregon22 highlights from Friday: Rogers into the women's 800 final

As the third heat of the women’s 800-meter semifinals aired on a nearby TV, Raevyn Rogers casually answered questions from the media with seemingly no interest at all in what was still happening on the track.

She’ll need to be as unflappable come Sunday.

The former Oregon star who has the added pressure of being immortalized on the Hayward Tower, finished third in her World Athletics Championships semifinal heat Friday night and needed to qualify for the finals on time, which meant the results of the last heat mattered significantly.

As it turned out, Rogers had nothing to worry about as her finish in 1 minute, 58.77 seconds put her into the eight-women final.

“I knew (my) heat was going to be fast just based on the people that ran it,” said Rogers, who finished behind Olympic silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson (1:58.51) of Great Britain and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule (1:58.73), who outleaned Rogers at the line to grab the second automatic qualifier.

“I went out there and gave my best for today and can’t ask for anything more,” said Rogers, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist and 2019 world championships silver medalist. “I tried to focus on being more aggressive, being more in it. I watched my (preliminary) race yesterday and I just felt like I looked a little sluggish. … I realized I wanted to work on having a little more pop.”

Athing Mu certainly had plenty herself, as the Olympic champ ran the fastest time out of the three semifinals at 1:58.12. She’s the favorite to win gold on Sunday.

“I’m excited. It’s gonna be fast,” Mu said. “It’s a final in the world championships. We have a super deep field and I don’t know what’s gonna happen, just gonna go run how I usually run and if someone goes out there and sets the pace, I’ll be right there with them.”

Rogers and Mu will be joined by fellow American Ajee Wilson, who won her heat in 1:59.97.

— Chris Hansen

Former UO sprinters Prandini and Nelson shine in 4x100 semifinals

Two former Ducks will be flying on to the final of the women’s 4x100-meter relay after helping their teams qualify during Friday’s semifinal.

Jenna Prandini ran the third leg for the American team that clocked the fastest time of the day, running 41.56 seconds, and Kemba Nelson ran the anchor leg for the Jamaican team that finished third in 42.37. Both teams will compete in the final Saturday on day nine of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field.

The U.S. team of Prandini, Melissa Jefferson, Aleia Hobbs and Twanisha Terry blazed to victory in the second and final heat on Friday with a world-leading time of 41.56. Prandini’s split of 10.36 seconds coming around the final turn put the Americans comfortably in the lead and even a slightly sloppy exchange with Terry couldn’t derail their spot in the final.

“We moved in a little bit just to make sure we got the stick around. We had relay camp and our sticks have been really, really amazing and our chemistry is great, so I’m really excited for tomorrow,” Prandini said. “I’ve run the curve since college, so it’s something I’m very comfortable with. I love running the curve, so to be able to come out here and do it with this squad, and to do it at Hayward, is really fun.”

Nelson ran a split of 10.11 seconds over the final 100 meters for the Jamaican team, narrowly edging Germany for second place in heat number one. The Jamaican team consisted of Nelson, Briana Williams, Nataliah Whyte and Remona Burchell.

“We did our part to get to the final tomorrow,” said Nelson, who finished sixth in her semifinal heat of the 100 meters on Sunday. Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah swept the top three spots on the medal stand in the 100, but it’s unclear if any of them will compete in the 4x100 final.

“I think in track you have to have a short memory,” Nelson said. “The semifinal was not what I wanted but I had to put it behind me and (focus) on the team. Like I said, just put it behind me, short-term memory and on to the next. I just wanted to stick around and get to the final.

“It doesn’t happen overnight. Every race is not going to be the best race. You have to work hard for it, you have to be hungry, you have to love it. Going forward, I just need to continue to put in the work that it takes to get to the top.”

Prandini also missed out on a spot in the final of her individual race, finishing fourth in her semifinal heat of the 200 meters on Tuesday.

“ Obviously I was pretty disappointed after the 200,” she said. “I felt like I could have done a lot better, but I knew I had this to come so I had to shake that off and get ready because we have big goals in the 4x100 as well.”

The U.S. also clocked the fastest time in the men’s 4x100 semifinals on Friday, with the team of Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Elijah Hall and Marvin Bracy running a world-leading time of 37.87. The men’s and women’s short relay finals will be the final event of Saturday’s evening session.

-Zack Palmer

Felix postpones retirement for women's 4x400 relay at worlds

Turns out, Allyson Felix hasn't run her last race. The most decorated sprinter in U.S. history will return to the world championships to race in the preliminaries of the women's 4x400 relay Saturday.

She said team officials coaxed her out of her brief retirement after she helped the mixed relay team win a bronze medal last Friday in what she had said was her last major race.

“The coaches asked if I was available and there was no way I’d turn the team down,” the 36-year-old said through an email with The Associated Press.

The prelims of the 4x400 relay are Saturday and the final will be held Sunday to close out the world championships.

A week ago, Felix ran the second leg on the 4x400 mixed relay squad in what she said would be her last event. Since then, she's had a few speaking engagements and attended The ESPYS in Los Angeles. She's back for another appearance at Hayward Field.

“When I got the call, I locked in and refocused,” Felix said.

The third-place finish in the mixed relay gave Felix her 19th medal at world championships, extending a record she already held. Add in her 11 Olympic medals and it brings the total to an even 30.

At the Tokyo Olympics last year, she was on the gold-medal women’s 4x400 relay as part of a “dream team” with Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Athing Mu. The foursome extended the American’s gold-medal winning streak in the event to seven at the Olympics.

Felix leaves quite a big footprint on track. In addition to her bounty of medals, she's also stared down Nike on pregnancy issues during her journey toward becoming an advocate for women’s right. She also started her own footwear company called Saysh.

Now, there's a chance for one more victory lap. She's soaking in the moment with her 3-year-old daughter, Camryn, in attendance.

“My best memories of this week are seeing my daughter cheer for me, seeing young women support me and having them thank me for standing up for them, and walking through the stadium and seeing women wearing Saysh,” Felix said.

— The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Track & field world championships Oregon22 Friday highlights