#TokyoGoldRush | Taylor, Gaye into Men's 400m semis but Allen misses out
Published:Saturday | July 31, 2021 | 10:19 PM
Olympic debutants Christopher Taylor and Demish Gaye have both qualified for the semi-finals of the Men's 400m event at the Tokyo Games in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday morning.
Taylor ran a time of 45.20 seconds to place third in his heat and take an automatic qualifying spot behind the USA's Michael Cherry (44.82s) and Barbados' Jonathan Jones (season's best 45.04s) who were first and second respectively.
Demish Gaye finished fourth in his heat in 45.49s, and qualified for the semi-finals as a fastest loser.
That race was won by Botswana's Isaac Makwala (44.86s), with Grenada's Kirani James second in 45.09s and Belgium's Jonathan Sacoor, third in 45.41s.
Former national champion Nathon Allen also competed but was eliminated after finishing fourth in his heat in 46.12s. That heat was won by Bahamas' Steven Gardiner (45.05s) with Trinidad and Tobago's (T&T) Deon Lendore (45.14s), and the Netherlands' Jochem Dobber (45.54s) third and fourth respectively.
Defending Olympic champion and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa also advanced third in his heat in a time of 45.25s, behind Colombia's Anthony Jose Zambrano (44.87s) and Australia's Steven Solomon (personal best 44.94s).
The USA's Michael Norman (45.35s) and T&T's Machel Cedenio (45.56s) also advanced.