July 11, 2008
BYDGOSZCZ, Poland -- Jeshua Anderson, a freshman at Washington State University, bettered his personal and school record time when he won the men's 400m hurdles Friday at the 12th Annual International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Anderson, from Woodland Hills, Calif., won the eight-man final race in a time of 48.68 seconds. The other USA competitor in the race, Johnny Dutch, from the University of South Carolina, finished second in a time of 49.25 seconds.
Anderson set a school record and lifetime-best 400m hurdles mark of 48.69 seconds at the NCAA Championship final last month in Des Moines, Iowa. In other notable intermediate hurdles races in the 2008 season, Anderson won the Texas Relays, the Mt. SAC Relays, the Pacific-10 Conference Championship, and the NCAA West Regional Championship. He went on to win the 2008 USA Junior Championship 400m hurdles title with a meet and stadium record-time of 49.28 seconds in Columbus, Ohio. Anderson ran at the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene last month, finishing ninth in the men's intermediate hurdles semifinals (48.92).
Anderson is not done at the World Junior Championships as he will run on the men's 4x400m relay team in preliminary heats Saturday, aiming for the Sunday final.
The following quotes were provided by USA Track and Field:
Jeshua Anderson, 400 hurdles, Gold Medalist
"I wanted to come in strong and stay focused. I knew Johnny was going to be right on me, so I wanted to finish strong and keep my composure. Plus I wanted us to go 1-2 and bring some medals back. I'm glad it's over with now, because I'm tired. Initially I just wanted to go to the Trials and compete there, which I was able to do. I had a really good year and wasn't expecting all of this to happen. Nothing really crossed my mind as I finished. I just wanted to hurry up and get done with the race. I'm glad we finished 1-2. I'm really appreciative about that."
Johnny Dutch, 400 hurdles, Silver Medalist
"It was a decent race, I can't say good race. It wasn't my best race. I clipped one of the hurdles and usually I never touch a hurdle. So then I alternated on one of the last hurdles, and that's another thing I never do. I tried my best and the best man won today. I'm happy we went 1-2. I'm not satisfied with my race, but I try to look at it in a positive way. I know for me to work hard something has to happen. With this happening, not having a good race and it's my last one of the season, then it's going to push me harder for next season. Overall I had a great season and I'm looking forward to next year."
