Ghana’s fastest man, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the men’s 100 metres final after finishing fourth in his semi-final heat with a season’s best of 10.08 seconds.
The highly competitive race saw Jamaica’s Oblique Seville storm to victory, with Botswana’s world champion Letsile Tebogo cruising into second place to claim the automatic qualification spots.
Saminu, who had been tipped as a dark horse for a place in the final, pushed hard in the closing stages but missed out by a fraction of a second. Unfortunately, his time was not fast enough to secure one of the fastest-loser slots.
Speaking after the race, a disappointed but determined Saminu said:
“I gave it everything on the track tonight. Of course, I’m disappointed not to make the final, but running 10.08 in such a strong field shows that I am improving. This is just the beginning — Ghanaian sprinting is on the rise, and I’ll be back stronger.”
Officials from the Ghana Athletics Association praised his effort
“Saminu has shown that Ghana can compete with the very best in the world. His performance in the semi-finals is a huge statement, and we believe he will soon break into the finals at major championships.”
Many Ghanaian fans took to social media to hail the 22-year-old sprinter, describing him as a “future star” and expressing pride in his performance against some of the biggest names in world athletics.
The men’s 100m final promises to be one of the highlights of the championship, with Seville, Tebogo, and a host of other elite sprinters set to battle for gold under the floodlights.
