Ottey falls short in Euro Indoor 60 heats by 0.03 sec
Merlene Ottey’s debut at the European Indoor Athletics Championships over the weekend was incredible by masters standards — but 46-year-olds generally don’t advance past the first round. Merlene ran 7.33 seconds for fourth in her heat Saturday in Birmingham, England. The third-place qualifier ran 7.30 (equal to Merlene’s season best). As it turns out, 7.33 took eighth in the final. On the masters men’s side, 37-year-old Vyacheslav Shabunin of Russia didn’t advance in the 1500, clocking 3:45.86 — which would have won an earlier heat.