Britton Wilson and Shamier Little on Tuesday night advanced automatically to Wednesday night’s semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
They are training partners at the University of Arkansas.
Wilson, the NCAA champion this year on the same Hayward Field track as an Arkansas sophomore, won her heat in 54.54 seconds.
A three-time NCAA champion at Texas A&M and a silver medalist at the 2015 World Championships, Little ran 54.77 to take second in her heat. She has trained in Fayetteville since 2018 with Razorbacks assistant coach Chris Johnson.
Femke Bol of the Netherlands led the 24 qualifiers for the semifinals with a time of 53.90.
Americans Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammed, the gold and silver medalists at the 2020 Olympics, had the second- and third-fastest qualifying times at 53.95 and 54.45.
The 400-meter hurdles final will be Friday night.