Lynna Irby

In a year heavily impacted by the pandemic, Miller-Uibo did not race much in either of her two strongest events but whenever she did she left a mark of some quality. In the half-lap sprint, she was best in the world with a time of 21.98s at Clermont, Florida, on July 25. It was the same meet where she also ran a personal best 10.98 in the 100m.

The 26-year-old Olympic champion also ran a fast 22.61 at the Montverde Academy on July 4.

Lynna Irby of the USA was awarded the silver, based on her consistent performances in the event.

Running in the same race where Miller-Uibo ran 21.98, she had a season-best time of 22.47 in a third-place finish.

She also ran times of 22.52 and 23.06s during the season.

Irby got the nod over compatriot Sha’Carri Richardson by virtue of their head-to-head meeting in Montverde where Irby beat Richardson in their only meeting of the season on July 4. In that race, Richardson clocked 23.14.

The youngster would go on to run a personal best 22.00 at Montverde on August 10.

Irby turned tables on Miller-Uibo in the 400m where she ran the fastest time in the world for 2020, a 50.50 at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on August 14.

That time was just 0.02s faster than Miller-Uibo’s season’s best 50.52 set in Montverde on July 4.

Wadeline Jonathas picked up T&FNews bronze. She was second to Irby in Monaco in 51.40. However, she was a model of consistency throughout the year with times of 51.23 in Chorzow on August 25 and 51.94 at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm two days earlier.

Miller, who has season-best times of 10.98 and 21.98 over the 100 and 200m, respectively, was a heavy favourite to win the half-lap sprint. However, she pulled up during the second of two heats won by the USA’s Lynna Irby in 22.52.

Coach Brauman, however, said the athlete felt some tightness, “nothing major,” he said.

Miller-Uibo, the 2016 Olympic 400m champion, had been unbeaten over the 200m for the past two seasons during which she ran a personal best 21.74 run in Zurich on August 29, 2019. Her only loss over the 400m came in October last year at the 2019 World Championships in Doha where she ran a personal best 48.37 only to lose to Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasser who ran 48.14, the third-fastest time in history.