Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati has qualified to the semifinals of the 100 Metre Men’s Race.
Azamati finished second in Heat One of the event by finishing with a time of 10.08 seconds behind Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson’s 10.00 seconds.
By securing a top three finish, Azamati has automatically qualified to the semifinals and improved his season’s best time of 10.05 seconds.
Thompson is the world’s fastest man this year as he went into the competition with a time of 9.77 seconds and he breezed through the race to finish dead-on on the 10 second mark.
Reynaldo Espinosa of Cuba finished third with a time of 10.11 seconds. After confirming his qualification, Azamati showed a bit of emotion by pumping his fist.
Ahead of the race, there was controversy as Benjamin Azu of Great Britain was disqualified for a false start.
In the second heat, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala topped the field with a time of 10.08 seconds to also progress to the semifinals.
Azamati finished second in Heat One to book his spot in the semis pic.twitter.com/YwZBBoAeLd
— Yaw Adjei-Mintah (@YawMintYM) August 3, 2024
Azamati is attempting to win Ghana’s first medal at this year’s Paris Olympics. Fellow sprinter Abdul Rasheed Saminu will compete in Heat 5 of the Men’s 100 Metres later on Saturday, August 3.
