by Stuart WeirLast month, Dalilah Muhammed ran the fastest time in the world, 52.64, over the 400 meter hurdles in the USATF Outdoors. Her time lead three under 53 minutes and six under 54 minutes, and her time of 52.64 was the fastest time ever run in North America.
At the Lausanne DL, Dalilah had a hamstring cramp and stopped racing between hurdle 1 and 2. She finished sixth in the Muller Anniversary Games yesterday and Stuart Weir caught up with Delilah after her race.
Delilah Muhammed, USATF Outdoors, photo by PhotoRun.net
Dalilah Muhammed could only finish sixth in the Anniversary Games (Diamond League) in a time of 54.99 in a race won by Janieve Russell of Jamaica in 54.02. Muhammed pronounced herself unworried by a poor display explaining that she was not fully fit: “I have been getting injured a lot this year. My hamstring was tweaked and was a bit tight in my last race in Lausanne. I was hoping today just to put it behind me but you know how those things go”.
She added: “I am sure I will be fine for London. This is my last race in Europe. I am going back home to recover, get some treatment and give it a whirl. I have a month so I will be good for sure”.
Having won silver in the 2013 World Championships, Muhammed became Olympic Champion in Rio in 2016 which she admits has added to the pressure on her: “There is definitely a lot more pressure on me now but I think I also put pressure on myself. You want to be great and that pressure takes its toll on you especially when you are coming in a race with the fastest time”.
She won the US trials this year in 52.64, setting a new North American All-comers record. The time, she told me, was no surprise to her: “No, because I have been training really hard and running well in practice so I was expecting something good”. Nothing significant has changed in her training: “just adding on to what I did last year and trying to do it better”.
She did admit that the quick time had made her feel more comfortable about 2017. She said: “Sometimes when you do a really fast time on the track, you wonder if you will be able repeat it. So knowing that I could do it again made me feel good. Having hit 52 seconds again, the pressure subsides because it showed that I could do it again”.
Asked again about being back in the London Stadium for the World Championships, she pointed out that prior to running 52.64 at the trials, she had only run two races in 2017 both in the 54s adding “and I was able to do that in a month and I think I will be able to do it again”.
Don’t be surprised if she runs another 52 second lap in the same stadium in a month and finishes up with another medal around her neck..
