Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

Mexican bronze medallist Ana Guevara celebrates after the women's 400m final at the 10th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki 10 August 2005.

The Bahamian looked well on course to add the world title to her laurels here on Sunday after she impressed in her first round heat.

Williams-Darling looked untroubled as she cantered home in her heat in a comfortable time of 51.04sec with Russia 's Olesya Zykina and Shericka Williams of Jamaica filling the two other automatic qualifying placings.

Williams-Darling, whose dramatic improvement last year saw her climax with the Olympic title leaving a devastated Guevara trailing in second, said that she was not already looking towards the final.

"I'm just happy to have qualified. I tried to get out hard. There have been no surprises and the semis will be tough with four good runners in each race," said the 29-year-old.

Guevara looked sharp as she came home first in her heat in a time of 51.15sec, the 28-year-old bronze medallist at the 2001 world championships looking fresher than she did last year at the Olympics having taken on a lighter schedule this term.

Guevara admitted that she was perhaps not 100 percent physically fit but that she felt a different person to the athlete who competed last year.
"I feel like I'm beginning all over again after suffering from tendinitis most of last year," said Guevara, who ran up a record of 29 successive victories between 2001 and 2003.

"I am 100 percent mentally but there remains that fraction missing from my physical fitness. However, I am happy I won the heat and can get into a better lane for the next round as lane eight (where she ran from) is not good it is like being the prey and not the hunter.

"However I am hungry for the finals and while Tonique is running well I will push her hard."
Richards, though, looked most assured and a definite danger - should the 20-year-old keep her head - as she dispensed with disdain two of the best runners over the distance of recent years.

The American - winner of relay gold at both the 2003 worlds and Olympics last year - came home metres clear of the 2001 world champion Amy Mbacke Thiam of Senegal while the 2003 silver medallist Lorraine Fenton looked out of sorts and just scraped third place.

"I'm very happy and excited," said Richards, whose individual improvement has come since she moved last year to Clyde Hart, who coached the great Michael Johnson and present 400m men's Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.