With his 20.16sec, the Nigerian failed to advance to the
final.
Seventeen-year-old Erriyon Knighton won his heat in 20.02sec
while Rasheed Dwyer emerged second in 20.13 sec.
World champion Noah Lyles endured a finish-line gaffe to
qualify from Tuesday’s semi-finals for the Olympic 200 metres finals.
The 24-year-old inexplicably slowed up with 10 metres of his
semi to run and was promptly overtaken at the line by Canada’s Aaron Brown and
Liberian Joseph Fahnbulleh, all three credited with 19.99sec.
It meant Lyles didn’t qualify automatically as one of the
first two finishers, instead handed an anxious wait as the third and final semi-final
went ahead.
That was won in some style by Brown’s teammate Andre de
Grasse, the Rio silver medallist, who clocked a national record of 19.73sec
ahead of American Kenneth Bednarek, in 19.83.
Lyles was left a sigh of relief as he qualified as one of
the next two fastest, along with Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago.
US teen sensation Erriyon Knighton won the opening
semi-final convincingly in 20.02sec, scoring a psychological blow by casually
looking across the field no less than four times on the back stretch through to
the line.
The 17-year-old will become one of the youngest ever 200m
finalists when he lines up at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.