striprepeat
Muna Lee Qualifies for Worlds in 200 Meters
29 June 2009
by Will Stafford
Associate Sports Information Director

Former Lady Tiger All-American Muna Lee had already secured her spot on the United States team heading to Berlin for the World Championships later this summer with a silver-medal winning run in the 100-meter dash during Friday’s action at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at historic Hayward Field.

Lee added the 200-meter dash to her World Championships resume on Sunday afternoon with an impressive runner-up finish in the event to conclude this year’s USA Championships.

Lee, who qualified for the final by finishing third in her semifinal heat with a wind-aided time of 22.37 seconds earlier in the day, ran a great final race out of Lane 1 and crossed finish line with a wind-aided time of 22.13 to finish second to defending World Champion Allyson Felix (22.02).

Lee has emerged as one of the world’s premier sprinters with her performance during the last two seasons as she also represented the United States in both sprint races at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where she finished fifth in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200 meters. Lee has earned the right to represent the U.S. in the World Championships for the second time in her career.

The 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics will be held at the National Stadium in Berlin, Germany, later this summer from Aug. 15-23. It marks Team USA’s first return to Berlin since it played host to the infamous 1936 Olympic Games under the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler.

With her performance this weekend, Lee is the only American man or woman who will line up in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the World Championships.

“I knew that running in a tighter lane that I would have to drive a lot longer because I would have way more of the curve than anybody else, so I just took it like that,” Lee said. “No lane in the 200 scares me, so I just went out there and got out like I know how. My (personal) best was in Lane 1, so I can’t really say it’s a bad lane because I don’t have to worry about anybody behind me.”

Two former Tigers also raced in the final of the men’s 200-meter dash Sunday afternoon as Kelly Willie and Xavier Carter just missed earning a spot on the U.S. team heading to Berlin.

Carter was the fifth-place finisher in the 200-meter final after running a windy time of 20.09 with Willie following closely behind in sixth place at 20.30. Carter won his semifinal heat with a wind aided time of 20.28, while Willie crossed the finish line in third place in the same race with a time of 20.41. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Crawford won the 200-meter title in 19.73.

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