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Karen RosenEugene, Oregon (USA) When Shaunae Miller-Uibo crossed the finish line in the women’s 400m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on Friday, she ticked off the final item on her ‘to do’ list.Miller-Uibo was 16 years old in 2010 when she won the world U18 title. Over the years, the Bahamian added the U20 title, the gold medal in the World Indoor Championships and not just one, but two, Olympic gold medals. But the top step at the World Championships podium had always eluded Miller-Uibo, who won silver medals in 2015 and 2019 and was fourth in 2017.The 28-year-old would not be denied on Friday at Hayward Field. Miller-Uibo led wire to wire, her long green hair flowing behind her, to win with a world-leading time of 49.11. “It has been a long time coming and the main thing for us this season was the world championships and a gold medal,” Miller-Uibo said. “That’s one thing we were missing, so I ran a very tactical race. To go out with the gold, I am very proud.” And with that, she announced that she would be shifting to the 200m. “That’s it for me running the 400m,” Miller-Uibo said. “The plans for me are the 200m, which has always been my first love, and get back into that.” She led a Caribbean sweep, with Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic taking the silver in 49.60 and Sada Williams of Barbados claiming the bronze with a national record of 49.75. Miller-Uibo blasted out of the blocks with the second-fastest reaction time and quickly made up the stagger, holding her advantage over Paulino.Miller-Uibo, who is now 2-1 against Paulino, said the times didn’t matter to her. “It was all about making sure we secured the gold medal,” she said.Her three medals in the 400m tie Allyson Felix, Ana Guevara, Jearl Miles-Clark and Lorraine Graham-Fenton. Miller-Uibo also captured the bronze in the 200m in 2017. Miller-Uibo’s husband, Estonian decathlete Maicel Uibo, embraced her after the race. He will now begin two days of competition. In 2019, they both won silver medals at the World Championships. (World Athletics)
