Aug. 15, 2009
J. Dutch’s Blog | Complete Results 
BERLIN – In his first race as a member of the full United States national team, South Carolina rising junior Johnny Dutch automatically advanced to Sunday’s semifinal of the 400-meter hurdles in the second day of competition at the 12th IAAF World Championships held in Berlin, Germany.
At the same stadium where Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, Dutch and the rest of the Americans wore “JO” patches on their tops to honor the legend. Taking lane six, Dutch lined up next to former teammate and 2008 South Carolina graduate Jussi Heikkila (Finland) in lane five as the runners prepared for the first heat of the 400-meter hurdles.
In keeping with the stagger, Dutch never fell out of contention for one of the three automatic qualifying spots in his heat as the Clayton, N.C. native took third at 49.38, a time that placed him 11th overall on the day. Even more motivating for Dutch is that his time is the fastest first round time he has ever run in the 400m hurdles, setting him up to possibly run a personal best in the next round. Heikkila crossed the line at 51.42 to finish eighth in the same heat and 24th overall.
“The guys inside of me were running really hard,” Dutch said. “It was the first race. I’m going to try to bring it home. I’m feeling better now. I’ll be ready.”
Dutch will compete in the semifinals Sunday, August. 16 at 2:15 p.m. EST. The race falls in the television window of NBC’s live broadcast that will run from 2-4 p.m. He will be the only Gamecock to compete Sunday; the first of the other seven to compete will be Lashinda Demus and Tiffany Ross-Williams who will compete in Tuesday’s women’s 400-meter hurdles heats.
GAMECOCK EVENT START TIMES
MEN
110m Hurdles – Terrence Trammell
Heats: Wednesday, August 19 – 5:35 a.m. EST (Heat TBA)
Semifinal: Thursday, August 20 – 12:15 p.m. EST
Final: Thursday, August 20 – 2:55 p.m. EST
400m Hurdles – Johnny Dutch & Jussi Heikkila
Heats: Saturday, August 15 – Dutch 49.38 (3rd heat, 11th overall), Heikkila 51.42 (8th heat, 24th overall)
Semifinal: Sunday, August 16 – 2:15 p.m. EST
Final: Tuesday, August 18 – 2:50 p.m. EST
WOMEN
400m Hurdles – Lashinda Demus & Tiffany Ross-Williams
Heats: Monday, August 17 – 12:15 p.m. EST (Heats TBA)
Semifinal: Tuesday, August 18 – 2:15 p.m. EST
Final: Thursday, August 20 – 2:15 p.m. EST
4x100m Relay – Shalonda Solomon & Aleen Bailey
Heats: Saturday, August 22 – 12:10 p.m. EST (Heats TBA)
Final: Saturday, August 22 – 2:00 p.m. EST
4x400m Relay – Natasha Hastings
Heats: Saturday, August 22 – 2:15 p.m. EST (Heats TBA)
Final: Sunday, August 23 – 11:50 a.m. EST
NBC, VERSUS TO BROADCAST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2009 World Championships will be broadcast in the United States daily on NBC and Versus. The broadcast schedule is as follows. All times Eastern; subject to change; check local listings.
August 16: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. NBC
August 17: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Versus
August 18: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Versus
August 19: 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. Versus
August 20: 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Versus
August 21: 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Versus
August 22: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. NBC
August 23: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. NBC
