UPDATE: McMaster delivers! Finishes first in heat to qualify for semifinals

Kyron McMaster delivered a strong performance in his opening race of the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, cruising to a comfortable first place finish to qualify for the semi-finals.

Running out of lane four in heat two of the Men’s 400 metre race, McMaster eased to victory in a time of 49.60 seconds.

He finished ahead of Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos who placed second with a time of 49.66 seconds and Chieh Chen of Chinese Taipei who finished third in 49.95 seconds.

McMaster will run in the semi-finals which are scheduled for Saturday, September 28 at 11:05 am local time.

Previously published story: Confident Kyron

Kyron McMaster is confident ahead of the first race of his 2019 IAAF World Championships campaign in Doha, Qatar today, September 27.

This according to President of the BVI Athletic Association Steve Augustine, who is currently with the three-member national team in the middle eastern city.

“He is confident, eager and mentally and physically prepared. We are confident that he will do well and have continued to support him wholeheartedly in his quest. He knows that the country is behind him and feels the support from home while being hundreds of miles away in Qatar,” Augustine told BVI News Friday morning.

The local athletic association boss also said each race is important and McMaster will be focusing on his first objective to make it into the semi-finals.

“It’s a race where qualifying is equally important as strategy. His ability to make it past the preliminary round will allow him to contest the semifinals scheduled for tomorrow,” Augustine stated.

Augustine, in the meantime, has described the weather in Doha as hot and ‘extremely’ humid.

“The track, however, is artificially cooled and quite pleasant. For obvious reasons, events are primarily scheduled in the afternoon or evening,” he told our news centre.

McMaster’s is scheduled to run out of lane four in heat number-two of the Men’s 400-metre hurdles at around 1:43 pm local time.

Other local athletes

Meanwhile, teammates Eldred Henry (Shot Put) and Chantel Malone (Long Jump) will compete on October 3 and 5, respectively.

President of the Olympic Committee Ephraim Penn said this is the first time three athletes from the British Virgin Islands have qualified for the biennial championship.

“It a great achievement for the country and we look forward to great performances from them. It is anticipated that they will do well and I just want to encourage the rest of the BVI to encourage and support them.”