Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor

Maurice Wignall

beijing, china

Veteran sprint hurdler Maurice Wignall has added his voice to the chorus of Jamaican athletes who have been saying that Usain Bolt's performance here has helped to inspire the rest of the team to new heights at the Beijing Olympic Games.

"I think the whole camp has been feeding off everybody. We did not expect anything like this and when something like this happens it does not shock you, it motivates you," the 32 year-old Wignall said.

He added: "We did not expect the times that they ran or the placing. We are very happy for it and we just hope we can produce more."

History

Wignall was speaking after he, and Richard Phillips, reached today's 110 metres hurdles final. It marked the first time Jamaica had qualified two men for a sprint hurdles final at an Olympics or World Championships.

Wignall, who was fourth in the final four years ago and missed bronze by a whisker, said his experience worked well for him in the semi-finals as he dipped at the right time to grab fourth from China's Dongpeng Shi by two-hundredths of a second.

"I knew if I kept my composure it would be easier to dip at the line when everybody else would be shuffling. I thought it would be like a dive and thankfully I had worked on a lot of that in practice and it came in handy today," Wignall said. He clocked 13.40 seconds to Shi's 13.42. The semi-final went to American David Oliver in 13.31.

Experience helped

Phillips also said the experience of Athens four years ago helped him.

"Reaching the final here means a lot to me. This is the biggest track meet you will ever see in this universe and to be in the top eight that's just great. Four years ago I decided to run fast every round but that did not help me. By the semi-finals my legs were dead. This time I decided to take it round by round and in the semi-finals try to go as fast as I can," an obviously elated Phillips said.

The 25-year-old national champion who punched the air after crossing the line, said the lane draw, where he had world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba next to him, helped him.

"I always focus on my own lane but when I saw him get out I just decided to just try to catch him as best as I could and I think that helped to push me further from the rest of the guys behind me," Phillips said. Robles won the heat easily in 13.12, Phillips clocked a season best 13.43 for fourth.