Olympic debutant Leah Bertrand could not make it past the women’s 100m semi-final at the Stade de France in Paris on August 3 as she finished eighth in the third and final heat.
Bertrand, 22, clocked 11.37 seconds running against a competitive field. Only the first two finishers in each heat and the next two fastest qualifiers advanced to the final.
Of the 27 semi-finalists, Bertrand finished 25th overall with Nigerian Rosemary Chukwuma (11.39s) the only athlete clocking a slower time while five-time world and two-time Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was a non-starter.
Online reports suggest Fraser-Pryce may have sustained a hamstring injury during her warm-up.
She was the second Jamaican sprinter to pull out of the 100m event as Shericka Jackson opted out of the opening heats because of an injury.
However, fellow Caribbean sprinters Julien Alfred showed class in heat two as she was fastest to the finish line in a blistering 10.84s. she defeated American favourite Sha’carri Richardson, who placed second in 10.89s, but also advanced to the final.
Winning heat three was Jamaican Tia Clayton in 10.89s.
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