Ghanaian sprinter Abdul-Rasheed Saminu will not compete in the Men’s 100 Metre Finals at the 2024 Olympic Games after finishing seventh in the last of three semifinal heats. Competing in his first Olympics, Saminu ran a time of 10.05 seconds, slightly faster than his qualifying time of 10.06 seconds.

In Heat 3, Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson took first place with a time of 9.80 seconds, followed by former World Champion Fred Kerley with 9.83 seconds. South Africa’s Benjamin Richardson secured the third spot with 9.95 seconds. Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, finished eighth behind Saminu with a time of 10.08 seconds.

Fellow Ghanaian sprinter Benjamin Azamati finished ninth in Heat One with a time of 10.17 seconds, in a race that saw Jamaica’s Oblique Seville and reigning World Champion Noah Lyles qualify for the finals.

Akani Simbine of South Africa and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo will represent Africa in the finals after finishing first and second respectively in Heat Two. Defending Olympic Champion Marcell Jacobs finished third in Heat Two but qualified for the finals along with fourth place finisher Kenneth Bednarek as the athletes with the two fastest non-automatic qualifying times.