DELHI, India - On the first day of track & field competition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, former Manhattan College star Aliann Pompey qualified for the semifinals in the women's 400 meters with a second place finish in her first round heat. Representing her native Guyana, Pompey posted a time of 52.33 seconds, the fourth-fastest time of the day.
Botswana's Amantle Montsho, the winner of Pompey's heat, recorded the fastest time of the day, 51.56 seconds. The 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Pompey will compete in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. The top two finishers and the next two fastest runners in each of the three semifinals qualify for Friday's final. Pompey and Montsho will both be in the first semifinal.
"Aliann turned in a very good opening performance," said Assistant Coach Joe Ryan, who has been Pompey's personal coach since her graduation from Manhattan. "She ran a very good opening round time, and I'm looking forward to her semifinal race tomorrow, where she'll have a good lane draw (lane 5)."
Originally known as the "British Empire Games," the Commonwealth Games bring together competitors from the Commonwealth of Nations (primarily former British colonies and territories) every four years in the even-numbered year opposite the Olympics.
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