Rusheen McDonald and Nickisha Pryce surged into the finals of the 400m with splendid displays at the World Athletics Championships in Japan on Tuesday morning.

The enigmatic McDonald produced his second-best run ever, stopping the clock at 44.04, placing second in Semi-final 2 and advancing to the final.

The race was won by Botswana’s Busang Kebinatshipi with a world-leading 43.61, and pulled McDonald to the second fastest time entering the final.

The 33-year-old McDonald, who is Jamaica’s national record holder with 43.93 set 10 years ago in 2015, turned back the clock with his best performance for a decade.

Having won the national championship, McDonald failed to reach the World Championship qualifying mark of 44.84, but has turned up the throttle to be one of the top eight runners in the world.

Kudos must be given to the coaching staff at MVP, led by the Francis brothers, Stephen and Paul, who also shocked the world by delivering Tina Clayton for silver in the 100m.

Jamaica’s other runners, Delano Kennedy, was seventh in Semi-final 3 in 44.97 and failed to advance, while Bovel McPherson was sixth in Semi-final 1 in 44.99 and also failed to reach the final.

Meanwhile, Nickisha Pryce, the 2024 NCAA champion, dropped a season-best 49.46 to make the women’s 400m final. She was pulled by the incomparable Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who smashed the American record, clocking 48.29.

Jamaica’s other runner, Stacey-Ann Williams, didn’t make it, finishing fifth in 50.39 and was 12^th overall and failed to make the top eight.

This is one of the most anticipated races pitting 2024 Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, the Olympic silver medallist and 2019 World champion.

Levrone, who steps down from the 400m hurdles, which she dominated and established a world record 50.37, looks set to challenge one of the longest-standing records in the book, that of 47.60 set by Germany’s Marita Koch 40 years ago in 1985.