Great Britain’s Daryll Neita, Dina Asher-Smith, and Bianca Williams all advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s 200m at Paris 2024, following the withdrawal of world champion Shericka Jackson.
Neita narrowly missed the 100m podium, finishing fourth on Saturday just four-hundredths of a second behind, as St Lucia’s Julien Alfred claimed gold. The 27-year-old had a strong performance on her return to the Stade de France track, winning her 200m heat with a time of 22.39 seconds.
Asher-Smith, disappointed by her exclusion from the 100m final, ran 22.28 seconds to finish second in her heat behind Nigeria’s Favour Ofili. Team-mate Williams also qualified with a time of 22.77 seconds.
An emotional Asher-Smith told BBC Sport, “I’m just angry from yesterday, to be honest. I was angry, but coming down the home straight, I was telling myself to ‘relax, relax’.”
“Yeah, I’m very upset,” the 2019 world 200m champion added.
Jamaican Shericka Jackson withdrew from the 100m to focus on the 200m, where she is the two-time reigning world champion, but did not compete on Sunday morning.
Jackson’s withdrawal means American Gabrielle Thomas, the fastest woman in the 200m this year, is now the gold-medal favorite. Thomas, 27, who won silver behind Jackson at the World Championships last year, began her Paris campaign by posting the fastest time of the first round with 22.20 seconds.
Less than 14 hours after winning historic gold, Julien Alfred, St Lucia’s first Olympic medallist, competed in the opening 200m heat and secured another victory with a time of 22.41 seconds.
Just as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s withdrawal from the 100m left the field wide open, Jackson’s absence from the 200m has similarly affected the event. Reigning 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah from Jamaica is also out of the competition due to an Achilles tendon injury.
After narrowly missing out on a 100m medal, Daryll Neita refocused and confidently won her 200m heat, marking a strong start to her bid in the event.
“It feels like I went to sleep here [at the track] last night. It has been a quick turnaround,” Neita told BBC Sport.
“Fourth was so bittersweet. I’ve had a little sleep on it and honestly I’m really proud of myself. It gives me so much confidence and a lot of motivation going into tomorrow.”
Lina Nielsen qualified for the women’s 400m hurdles semi-finals with a second-place finish in 54.65 seconds, while Jessie Knight will have to advance through a repechage round after finishing fifth in 55.39 seconds.
The race was won by Femke Bol, who clocked 53.38 seconds and had a remarkable sprint finish to secure mixed 4x400m relay gold for the Netherlands on Saturday.
American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the defending champion and world record holder, won her heat comfortably in 53.60 seconds, setting up an anticipated gold-medal showdown with Bol.
Great Britain’s Elizabeth Bird advanced to the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final by finishing fourth in her heat with a time of 9:16.46, while Aimee Pratt did not qualify.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes qualified for the men’s long jump final with a best leap of 7.96m in qualifying. Defending champion Miltiadis Tentoglou led the standings with a jump of 8.32m.