Olympics: 19-Year-Old Ajayi, Ashe Bows Out
Olympics: 19-Year-Old Ajayi, Ashe Bows Out
Nigeriaโs duo Kayinsola Ajayi and Favour Ashe fell short of the qualifying spots in the menโs 100m semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday with both men finishing sixth in their respective races, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
After progressing through the heats on Saturday, all eyes were on both men inside the Stade de France as they lined up in the star-studded event, with the hope of seeing Nigeria making back-to-back Olympic finals in the event after Enoch Adegoke reached that stage in Tokyo 2020.
Ashe, who picked the last non-automatic spot into the semis started very well in the race, but he couldnโt match the finishing of the rest of the field as Jamaicaโs Oblique Seville won the first semi-final with a new personal best of 9.81s while world champion Noah Lyles was second in a time of 9.83s.
He has been beaten for the second time at the Games as he hopes to win the Olympic title.
The 19-year-old Ajayi who stunned the field in his heat on Saturday produced a time of 10.16s in the second semi-final but it wasnโt enough to get him through.
South Africaโs Akani Simbine ran a fantastic race to win the heat in a time of 9.87s while Botswanaโs Letsile Tebogo grabbed the second automatic spot in 9.91s for an African dominance.
Ajayi is the newly-crowned Nigeria menโs 100m champion, having won the title at the National Trials before the Olympics.
The Auburn man ran his seasonโs best and new personal best of 10.00s at the end of the Olympics automatic qualifying window to win the menโs 100m at the Luzern Athletics Meet in Switzerland in July.
He had hoped to break the 10s barrier in the event in Paris.
In his debut NCAA season, Ajayiโs accomplishments include winning the South-Eastern Conference (SEC) 60m title in his first college year and securing a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
The 19-year-old became the third Tiger SEC Champion in the last four years in the menโs 60m dash, claiming gold in a time of 6.60s on the final day of competition at the Randal Tyson Track Centre in February.
