On an atypically cool Beijing night, seven women took to the track in the third heat of the women's 400-meter hurdles race of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

They came from Jamaica, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kyrgyzstan and . . . Richmond.

The athlete from Richmond did well.

In a dark blue Team USA uniform, Queen Harrison, running in the fastest qualifying heat of the evening, finished fourth in her race with a time of 55.96. That was good enough to move to tonight's semifinal race.

"I started the race thinking I'd go at a slower pace," said Harrison, who at 19 is the youngest person on the U.S. Olympic track team. But Melaine Walker of Jamaica and Anastasiya Rabchenyuk of Ukraine took it out early and fast.

"It kind of affected me at the end," said Harrison, who looked spent as she crossed the finish line. "But I have a lot more in the tank."

Now things get serious. It's down to the top 16 women in the world at the 400 hurdles. Harrison's personal best of 54.60 may not be enough to advance to Wednesday's finals.

"I'm going to have to react," she said confidently. "I'll be able to react."

Today, she'll have to. On Sunday, the rules were this: The top three runners in each of four heats automatically advanced to the next round. Then, the next four runners with top times joined the semifinal group.

Harrison finished fourth in her race but was the fastest qualifier among all the so-called "lucky losers" yesterday.

There was one glitch that caused some consternation for the Hermitage High School graduate. She was originally scheduled to race in the first heat, at 8:10 p.m. and in Lane 7, an outside lane.

"I was planning on Lane 7 and mapping the race," she said. "I'm not sure what happened."

Only as she was warming up an hour or so before the race was she told her heat was bumped to 8:26 and that she'd be in Lane 2.

She had to adjust. She started well and seemed in position to finish third. But, her dark hair blowing in the breeze, she faded near the end.

She said she was buoyed by the huge crowd and its enthusiasm in the monstrously large stadium.

"There wasn't nervousness," the Virginia Tech sophomore said of her mental state when she took to the track. "I fed into the crowd. It made me feel refreshed.

"It was like a breath of fresh air. It's so cool to see people out there supporting a sport that's under the radar in the United States."