Akani Simbine’s unbeaten run in the top echelons of world sprinting ended in disqualification at the world championship in Budapest on Sunday, sent off the track after false-starting in the semifinals.
The South African with the slow start and great top-end speed, who had been in the top five of the world since 2016, took off a fraction of a second too early in the second semifinal.
He wasn’t the only major casualty, with defending champion Fred Kerley of the US and Italy’s Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs also failing to advance to the final later on Sunday evening (7.10pm).
Hopes of a first-ever men’s 100m medal were left to Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who ended second in the third heat, and Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, who qualified as a fastest loser.
Americans Noah Lyles (9.87) and Christian Coleman (9.88) were the two fastest, followed by Jamaican Oblique Seville (9.90) and Briton Zarnel Hughes (9.93).
Ryiem Forde of Jamaica (9.95), Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan (9.97), Tebogo (9.98) and Omanyala (10.01) complete the line-up.
Adriaan Wildschutt ended 14th in the men’s 10,000m in 28 min 21.40 sec, but only after a brave run where he had stuck inside the top seven for 19 laps.
Tshepo Tshite launched a brave fightback in his 1,500m semifinal, but missed out on a spot in the final by one-hundredth of a second.
He stormed through over the final 200m to finish seventh in 3 min 32.98 sec, the second-fastest time of his career to date.
Only the top six finishes of the two semifinals advanced to Wednesday’s final, with no room for fastest losers in a new format employed by World Athletics.
His time was faster than Norwegian favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s 3:34.98 winning time in the second race.
Akani Simbine’s 100m medal hopes end in disqualification in Budapest
Image: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Akani Simbine’s unbeaten run in the top echelons of world sprinting ended in disqualification at the world championship in Budapest on Sunday, sent off the track after false-starting in the semifinals.
The South African with the slow start and great top-end speed, who had been in the top five of the world since 2016, took off a fraction of a second too early in the second semifinal.
He wasn’t the only major casualty, with defending champion Fred Kerley of the US and Italy’s Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs also failing to advance to the final later on Sunday evening (7.10pm).
Hopes of a first-ever men’s 100m medal were left to Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who ended second in the third heat, and Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, who qualified as a fastest loser.
Americans Noah Lyles (9.87) and Christian Coleman (9.88) were the two fastest, followed by Jamaican Oblique Seville (9.90) and Briton Zarnel Hughes (9.93).
Ryiem Forde of Jamaica (9.95), Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan (9.97), Tebogo (9.98) and Omanyala (10.01) complete the line-up.
Adriaan Wildschutt ended 14th in the men’s 10,000m in 28 min 21.40 sec, but only after a brave run where he had stuck inside the top seven for 19 laps.
Tshepo Tshite launched a brave fightback in his 1,500m semifinal, but missed out on a spot in the final by one-hundredth of a second.
He stormed through over the final 200m to finish seventh in 3 min 32.98 sec, the second-fastest time of his career to date.
Only the top six finishes of the two semifinals advanced to Wednesday’s final, with no room for fastest losers in a new format employed by World Athletics.
His time was faster than Norwegian favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s 3:34.98 winning time in the second race.
MORE:
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Akani, Wayde look to end SA medal famine
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