Washington advances to 400m final at World Indoor, Lawson fourth in long jump

BELGRADE, Serbia – Arkansas alum Marqueze Washington advanced to the World Indoor 400m final after racing twice on the initial day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships inside Stark Arena on Friday.

Razorback alum Jarrion Lawson placed fourth in the long jump with a season best of 26-10.5 (8.19), which moved him into bronze medal position in round three. A season best leap of 55-7.5 (16.95) placed Jah-Nhai Perinchief, representing Bermuda, fifth in the triple jump.

Joining Washington during Saturday’s competition are Yoveinny Mota (Venezula, 60m hurdles), Sandi Morris (US, pole vault), Tina Sutej (Slovenia, pole vault), and Ryan Crouser (US, shot put).

A 46.66 victory in the first round of the 400m started the day for Washington, who later finished third in a semifinal heat with a time of 46.36 to earn an automatic qualification to the final, which will be held at 2:10 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Finishing ahead of Washington in the semifinal heat were a pair of SEC alums in Jereem Richards (46.15), who represents Trinidad & Tobago and competed for Alabama, and Benjamin Lobo Vedel (46.30), of Denmark who competed at Florida. Sweden’s Carl Bengstrom produced the top time of 45.92 from the other semifinal heat.

Lawson’s long jump series included three marks among three fouls. A second round leap of 26-2.75 (7.99) preceded his best mark, while a 25-8.75 (7.84) followed in round four.

Lawson remained in third place until the sixth round. Sweden’s Thobias Montler moved from fifth to second with a final round improvement to 27-6 (8.38) from 26-8.25 (8.13).

Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, the Tokyo gold medalist, won the long jump title with a world-leading 28-0.75 (8.55), which ranks as the sixth best performer on the all-time world list. American Marquis Dendy finished third with a 27-1.75 (8.27) to collect his second World Indoor bronze after winning the 2016 title.

World Athletics Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | Schedule

Day 2 | Saturday, March 19

Day 3 | Sunday, March 20

Broadcast schedule