ITHACA, N.Y. -- Even the best athletes and the best-prepared can fall victim to bad luck. Cornell's Morgan Uceny '07 put herself in terrific position for a medal or even better in the 1500 at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea on Thursday morning, but she was tripped by another athlete with less than 600 meters remaining.

In great position through the first 900 meters, her hopes for a medal were dashed when she was tripped by the runner in front of her with 550 meters to go, knocking her to the track and effectively out of the race. With the entire field bunched together, a collision wasn't surprising. Morgan had placed herself in a seemingly safe position on the outside half of lane one but had no chance to stay on her feet when the runner in front of her fell, giving her no chance to react.

Morgan managed to pick herself up and finish in 10th in 4:19.71. Fellow American Jenny Simpson won the gold medal in 4:05.40.

Uceny's season will continue as the Diamond League series, which she currently leads, concludes in September.

Watch Uceny's post-race interview
Get complete results from the race