HEARTBREAK AS GEMILI IS PIPPED AGAIN
MORE grime and no shine. But it was a close run thing for adam Gemili, who came within a whisker of lifting some of the mood around UK athletics in the 200 metres final. The 25-year-old led the field coming off the bend but first Noah Lyles and andre de Grasse overtook him before he was nudged from the medals on the line by alex Quinonez of ecuador as the Brit’s technique faltered. Having been beaten to Olympic bronze by three thousandths of a second in Rio, he was edged by five hundredths here. Brutal. and so he cried, such was the devastation at another near-miss for an athlete who was snubbed for individual funding this year but outperformed everyone who got the cash. ‘I am gutted,’ said Gemili after Lyles took gold in 19.83sec, ahead of De Grasse and Quinonez. ‘I had it. I lost my balance. I had nothing left at the end. all my form went out of the window. ‘I ran like an amateur, I cannot believe it, I came so close, this was such a good chance. I am sorry, I feel like I have let down so many people. so many people sent me messages. The team know I have been plagued with injuries. ‘It is heartbreaking. I had the medal and it slipped out of my hands. I have to take the positives. I had been labelled a relay runner, I had been written off, and it shows you need a group of tightknit people around you. ‘This has relit something inside me. If I go to the Tokyo Olympics it’s winnable.’ The blow for UKa is that Gemili almost brought some relief on a hard day on which the four-year ban given to Mo Farah’s former coach alberto salazar for doping violations cast them in a particularly questionable light. a Gemili medal also would have helped with a target of seven to nine that is looking increasingly difficult to reach. The tally stands on one courtesy of Dina asher-smith’s 100m silver, but that appears certain to improve today in the women’s 200m final. asher-smith took a sizeable step towards a gold at the distance by finishing fastest in the semi-final by a massive 0.3sec. she clocked 22.16sec and stands as a huge favourite for the final, not least because her last major challenger, Olympic champion elaine Thompson, withdrew with an achilles injury ahead of her race. with shaunae Miller-Uibo and shelly-ann Fraser-Pryce having already opted out of racing the distance — and the departures of Dafne schippers, Marie- Josee Ta Lou and Blessing Okagbare through a mixture of injury and disqualification — only four of the fastest women in the world this year are still standing. ashersmith is the top of that pile and it would be a major surprise if she didn’t finish top of the podium. Nick Miller qualified in 10th place for the final of the hammer.