Dutee Chand finishes last in the heats and does not advance to the semi-finals of the 200m.

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Monday, 2nd August 2021

Dutee Chand recorded her best time in the 200m this season, but it wasn't enough to get her into the semifinals, and she was eliminated from the Olympics after coming last in her heat race on Monday.

Dutee, who had also crashed out of her favourite event, the 100m, in the first round, finished seventh and last in Heat 4 with a time of 23.85 seconds.

Each of the seven heats' top three finishers, as well as the next three fastest, advance to the semifinals.

She finished 38th overall out of 41 athletes, putting an end to her second Olympic career.

Her personal best is 23 seconds, which she set while winning silver at the Asian Games in 2018.

Given the gap in timings between the top performers and herself, the Odisha runner came to Tokyo with low expectations of at least reaching the semifinals. Even that desire, though, evaded her.

She had qualified for the 200m based on her world rankings, but she had failed to break the automatic qualifying time of 22.80 seconds.

Christine Mboma of Namibia won Dutee's heat in 22.11 seconds, ahead of American Thomas Gabrielle (22.20), while Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah (22.86) and silver medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (22.22), both Jamaicans, qualified for the semifinals in third and 16th place, respectively.

The biggest surprise was when Shericka Jackson, the bronze medalist in the 100m, did not advance to the semifinals. In her heat, the Jamaican tried to take it easy, but she eased off too much before the finish and finished fourth. Her time of 23.26 was insufficient to qualify for the semifinals.

The fact that Shericka Jackson, the bronze medalist in the 100m, did not proceed to the semifinals was the biggest shock. The Jamaican attempted to relax in her heat, but she relaxed too much before the finish and finished fourth. Her timing of 23.26 was not enough to get her into the semifinals.

In the 100m heat race, Dutee was nowhere near her best, finishing well outside her national record of 11.17 seconds.

She was unable to break the automatic qualification threshold of 11.15 seconds, so she qualified for the Olympics based on world rankings.

“I am sorry as I couldn't stand to all your expectations,” Dutee tweeted after the 100m heat race on Friday.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source

The Indian Express