Alysia Montano finished a strong 4th place in the 800m final at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, on Sunday. Her 1:57.48 performance was a seasonal best. She finished 2 seconds behind winner, Mariya Savinova, of Russia, who ran 1:55.87.
The tone of the race was set early thanks to a blistering half way split of 55 seconds. Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya, led the charge, with Montano just behind in 3rd position. The pack regrouped on the final backstretch, but Montano found herself boxed in the middle of the pack. She wasn’t able to run free until the last straightaway, where she moved up from 6th to 4th, diving across the finish line just shy of 3rd place.
Savinova’s winning time was the world leader for 2011. Rounding out the medals were Caster Semenya of South Africa for silver, and Jepkosgei hanging on for bronze.
