US wins 3 golds in half hour at world championship

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US wins 3 golds in half hour at world championship

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In a golden half hour for the United States, three Americans won world championship titles.

02 September,2011 01:05 pm

Jennifer Barringer Simpson got the first 1,500-meter victory since Mary Decker-Slaney in 1983.Jesse Williams added the first high jump world title in two decades and Lashinda Demus ran the third fastest time in history to take the womens 400 hurdles.At the end of the night, the United States led the medal standings with seven gold medals and 12 overall. Russia was closest with four gold and 12 in total.What a wonderful night for our team, Williams said. Will I celebrate? You can bet on that. We will have a big party.On a day of surprises, double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius reached his first major final Thursday, leading off South Africas 4x400-meter relay team and helping it qualify with a national record. The South African team is to decide early Friday whether the Paralympic star would still be in the starting lineup for Fridays final since it could also use Thursdays 400 hurdles bronze medalist L.J. van Zyl.The astonished face of Simpson said it all after the race. She did not figure in the top 10 of this seasons performers before outpacing all the favorites and winning the first title for the United States in the race in 28 years.I am supposed to say that I am not surprised, said Simpson, who had the 25th best time of the season heading into the worlds. All I can say is that a dream has come true.Simpson sped past rivals on the finishing straight and then, with big eyes, looked at the giant screen facing her in Daegu Stadium to see if it really happened.Im coming down home stretch and thinking, how did I get here? Simpson said. I knew coming off the curb I had another couple of gears, and I just thought Im going to be really hard to beat now.She closed her eyes and raised her fists after the race.In the high jump, Williams was perfect through the winning height of 7-feet, 8½ inches, needing one jump less than Aleksey Dmitrik of Russia. Both failed three times at 7-9¼, handing the United States a first mens high jump title since Charles Austin at the 1991 worlds in Tokyo.If two golds in a dozen minutes was great, Demus made it three in 29 after a thrilling duel with Jamaican rival Melaine Walker.After twice getting silver, Demus finally got the breakthrough victory when she moved ahead after clearing the last of 10 hurdles alongside Walkerbefore putting in a better finishing kick.