Tokyo Olympics: Akani Simbine finishes fourth in the 100m as Ghana secure boxing medal on day nine
Boxer Samuel Takyi has guaranteed himself at least a bronze medal to secure Ghana's first Olympic medal since the men's football team won bronze at the 1992 Games in Barcelona
Boxer Samuel Takyi has guaranteed himself at least a bronze medal to secure Ghana’s first Olympic medal since the men’s football team won bronze at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
South Africa’s Akani Simbine misses out on a medal as he finishes fourth in the men’s 100m final with Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke pulling up before the finish line with an injury.
Another Nigerian, Tobi Asuman, reached the final of the women’s 100m while Kenyan duo Ferguson Rotich and Emmanuel Korir will be in the race for a medal in the men’s 800m.
South Arica’s Wayde van Niekerk qualified for Monday’s semi-finals of the men’s 400m as he bids to retain his Olympic title.
Five African athletes will be in Wednesday’s final of the women’s 3,000, steeplechase as Nigeria’s Ese Brume qualifies for the women’s long jump final.
Egypt won the fourth match at the Games to finish second in Group B of the men’s handball tournament and will play Germany in Tuesday’s quarter-finals.
South Africa’s Akani Simbine ran 9.93 seconds as he finished fourth in the men’s 100m final, which was won by Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs in 9.80s.
The USA’s Fred Kerley claimed silver with Canada’s Andre de Grasse winning the bronze, as he did at the 2016 Games in Rio.
Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke pulled up after 50 metres with an injury and did not record a time.
It means that Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks remains the only African to have won an Olympic 100m medal when he claimed silver at the 1992 Barcelona games and again four years later in Atlanta.
Earlier on Saturday Adegoke had qualified automatically for the final as he was given second place in the second semi-final after a photo finish separated him from the USA’s Trayvon Bromell, with both men given a time of 10.00 seconds.
However, also in the second semi-final, South Africa’s Shaun Maswanganyi finished sixth as he failed to progress to the final.
South Africa’s Simbine had progressed but only as one of two fastest losers as he finished fourth in the third semi-final in a time of 9.90 seconds.
Ivory Coast’s Arthur Cisse could only finish seventh in the third semi-final and failed to reach the final.
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omwurwa Omanyala missed out on the final despite breaking his national record again, which he set in Saturday’s heats, with a time of 10.00 seconds as he finished third in the first semi-final.
The time for the 25-year-old, who had battled to be included in the Kenyan team for the games, was not enough for him to progress as the fastest loser.
Also in the first semi-fina,l, Nigeria’s Usheoritse ‘Dushos’ Itsekiri pulled up with a hamstring injury a few metres from the finish line, with South Africa’s Gift Leotlela doing the same as he crossed the line.
Nigeria’s commonwealth champion Tobi Asuman won the first semi-final of the women’s 100m hurdles to qualify for Monday’s final, with the fourth-fastest time.
Liberia’s Ebony Morrison set a new national record of 12.74 seconds in the third semi-final but could only finish sixth in her heat and will not progress to the final.
Source: BBC
