TOKYO, Japan, CMC – There were no medals won by Caribbean athletes at the Summer Olympic Games here yesterday, but the region moved forward in numbers in the men’s 400 metres, the women’s 100 metre hurdles and long jump, with reigning World champion Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas leading the way.
The 25-year-old Gardiner comfortably won heat five of the 400 metres in 45.05 seconds with Trinidad and Tobago’s Deon Lendore close behind in 45.14 seconds, while Barbadian Jonathan Jones was the fastest Caribbean qualifier, circling the track in 45.04 seconds as he finished second in heat three.
There was massive disappointment for the region, however, as there were no Caribbean sprinters in the 100 metres final for the first time since the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, with Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, hampered by a leg injury, and fellow countryman Oblique Seville and Jason Rogers of St Kitts and Nevis falling short in the semi-finals.
The final was won by Lamont Jacobs of Italy in 9.80 seconds, ahead of American Fred Kerley in 9.84 and Andre De Grasse of Canada in 9.89.
Blake was a disappointing sixth in semi-final one in 10.14 as Kerley (9.96) led home De Grasse (9.98), while Seville clocked 10.09 to be fourth in semi-final two, won by former Anguilla sprinter, Zharnel Hughes, who now represents Great Britain.
The 26-year-old Hughes was timed at 9.98 in the semis to be one of the medal favourites, but suffered heartbreak in the final hours later when he false-started.
Rogers, meanwhile, finished sixth in semi-final three in 10.12, as China’s Bingtian Su took victory in 9.83.
Joining Gardiner, Lendore and Jones in the advanced stages of the 400m was 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada, who was second in the opening heat in 45.09.
Alonzo Russell of The Bahamas, along with Christopher Taylor and Demish Gaye of Jamaica, and Dwight St Hillaire and 2016 fourth place finisher Machel Cedenio of Trinidad and Tobago, all booked their places in the next round.
