Anthony Foster, Gleaner Writer

The medal-winning performances of Jamaica's athletes at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, has not, sur-prisingly, overshadowed outstanding performances from many other Jamaicans who did not make it to the medal podium.

Although ending the nine-day championships without medals, they represented the black, green and gold flag with distinction and made the nation proud.

The determination and pride with which they represented Jamaica was unquestionable, even for those who lost out at the very first round.

Among the rising stars and outstanding non-medal winning performers was former Girls' Championship star Anneisha McLaughlin, the 2003 World Youth 200m champion.

McLaughlin started her long-overdue senior career in impressive style to highlight Jamaica's non-medal winners.

Two-time champion

McLaughlin, a two-time World Junior 200m silver medallist, recorded a huge personal best of 22.55 in the semi-finals of the 200m.

She ran 22.91 in the heats to first lower her personal best of 22.94 and was fifth in the final in 22.62.

McLaughlin, one of five Jamaican finalists to end without an individual or relay medal, said words could not explain how she felt to reach the final while doing her personal best.

"I am happy that my training is paying off now," said McLaughlin, who said at one point she felt like giving up athletics.

Season-best

Novlene Williams, who is expected to pick up a medal in today's 4x400m relay final, had earlier recorded a season-best 49.77 in the final of the 400m for a close fourth, while the veteran campaigner Danny McFarlane again showed determination in his 48.65 run for sixth in the 400m hurdles final.

Team captain, Maurice Wignall, in the men's 110m hurdles, after suffering cramps, did well to finish fifth in the final with a season-best 13.31.

The fourth finalist, Trecia Smith, the triple jump winner in 2005, was fourth this time around with a season-best 14.48m after a season where she has battled which would have crushed a lesser person.

Apart from the five finalists who failed to medal, six other Jamaicans reached the semi-final of their events.

Ricardo Chambers season's best effort of 45.13 was not good enough for a place in the final of the men's 400m, so too was Christine Day with runs of 53.13 in the first round and 53.46 in the semis.

Lacena Golding-Clarke, who had runs of 12.90 and 12.76, was also another semi-finalist.

In the 400m hurdles, medal hopeful Isa Phillips, who hit the ninth, hurdle, was relegated to fifth in his men's semi-final in 48.93 while Nickeisha Wilson, a fourth-place finisher last time in Osaka, had a season's best 54.89 in her event.

The talented Kenia Sinclair again failed to make a World Championships final, running 2:02.31 to drop out at the semi-final round of the women's 800m.

In the men's 200m event, Calabar's Ramone McKenzie, like Bolt's first senior outing at the 2004 Olympic Games, was eliminated in the first round, running 20.97.

Richard Phillips also fell at the first round after running 13.70 in the 110m hurdles.

Josef Robertson was disqualified in the first round of the same event while Maurice Smith injured himself in the first event, 100m, of the men's decathlon.

First-timers

On the field, it was more of an experience-gaining outing for Jamaica's promising group of jumpers as Alain Bailey, Nicholas Gordon, Julian Reid, Kimberly Williams and Jovanne Jarrett, all first-timers, were never in the money.

Bailey leapt 7.88m and Gordon, 7.92m to make an early exit in the men's long jump.

Jarrett, who fought hard in pouring rain for a 6.43m leap, also failed to make the final in the women's equivalent.

Reid, who took part in the men's triple jump, finished 14th in Group One with 16.49.