RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Former Manhattan College track & field star Aliann Pompey begins competition in the 400 meters at the 2011 IAAF World Championships on Saturday. Pompey, the 2000 NCAA indoor champion in the event, is representing her native Guyana at the World Championships, which are being held in Daegu, South Korea.
In addition, Manhattan College Assistant Coach Joe Ryan, who was the head coach of the Guyanese team at the 2008 Olympics, is serving in the same capacity in Daegu. Ryan has continued to work with Pompey since her graduation.
This marks the sixth consecutive World Championships appearance for Pompey, who is also a three-time Olympian. She has reached the semifinals in each of the last two editions (Osaka 2007, Berlin 2009) and set a Guyanese national record of 50.71 seconds at the 2009 World Championships. In 2010, she qualified for the final at the World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, and won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
Pompey will be in the second of five qualifying heats, which also includes NCAA champion Jessica Beard of the United States. The race is scheduled to go off at 7:14 a.m. (8:14 p.m. in Daegu) on Saturday and will be webcast live on universalsports.com. It will also be featured on NBC's coverage from 1:30-3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The top four finishers in each heat, as well as those with the next four fastest times, advance to Sunday's semifinals. The women's 400 meter final will take place on Monday.
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