Ace TT sprinter Jereem Richards' 400m title defence at the World Athletics Indoor Championships came to an end at the semifinal stage in Glasgow, Scotland on Friday, after placing fourth in the second semi in the afternoon session on day one of the games.

In the day's morning session, Richards just earned a spot in the semis after finishing fourth in heat three in a time of 47.04 seconds. Richards, 30, progressed beyond the first round as the slowest of four non-automatic qualifiers.

In his semi, though, Richards was unable to replicate the form which saw him topping all competitors in a championship-record time at the championships in Belgrade two years ago, as he finished outside of the three qualifying spots in 46.64 seconds - a new season-best.

Belgian athlete Alexander Doom won the first semifinal in a personal best time of 45.69 seconds, with Portugal's Joao Coelho (45.98 seconds) and Hungary's Atilla Molnar (46.08 seconds) both setting new national records as they finished the race in second and third spots respectively.

In the second semi, Norway's 400-metre hurdle Olympic champion Karsten Warholm sped to the finish line in a season-best 45.86 seconds, with Jamaica's Rusheen McDonald (46.02 seconds) and Czech Republic's Matej Krsek (46.48 seconds) grabbing the remaining two qualifying spots.

The final of the 400-metre event will be contested at 5.10 pm on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, TT's top female sprinter, Michelle-Lee Ahye, will face the starter in the fourth of seven heats at approximately 7.40 am. Ahye will line up in lane six, and she will be looking to better her seventh-place finish from the 60-metre final at Belgrade games.

The top three athletes in each heat will advance to the semifinals, along with three non-automatic qualifiers. Both the semifinals and final will be contested in Saturday's afternoon session.

The post Jereem out in World Indoor 400m semis appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.