#BudaQuest | Seville cruises, Forde through to 100m final

Jamaica’s Oblique Seville cruised in a World Championships semi-final heat that included the biggest casualty of the sprints earlier today inside the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.

The United States’ Fred Kerley will not defend his title in the final after finishing third in heat three behind Seville, who won in 9.90 seconds. Kerley’s 10.02 was just short of the 10.01 run by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala in the first heat.

There was also an anxious wait for Ryiem Forde, who was third in semi-final heat two, clocking a nippy 9.95 to finish behind the United States’ Christian Coleman, 9.88, and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, 9.93. Hughes had to recover from a slow start, to get by Forde after a false start from South Africa’s Akani Simbine seemed to have affected him.

There wasn’t such good news for Jamaica’s national champion, Rohan Watson, who was sixth in heat one, clocking 10.07. Watson’s heat was won by an impressive-looking Noah Lyles of the United States, his 9.87 the quickest time through to the final.

Omanyala, the non-automatic qualifier, and Japan’s Sani Brown, 9.97 were also through from that heat.

Rounding out the list of qualifiers is the talented Botswanan, Letsil Tebogo, who clocked 9.98 to finish behind Seville and relegate Kerley to the stands.

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