Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati described his 9th place finish in the men’s 100m semifinals at the Paris 2024 Olympics as “possibly the worst race he’s had this season.”

Azamati did not advance to the finals after placing ninth in Heat One of the semifinals, clocking a time of 10.17 seconds, slower than his previous heat time of 10.06 seconds which had secured his spot in the semifinals. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Azamati also failed to advance past the semifinals.

Jamaica’s Oblique Seville won the first heat with a personal best of 9.81 seconds, followed by reigning World champion Noah Lyles with 9.83 seconds, and Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe with 9.97 seconds.

Reflecting on his performance, Azamati acknowledged areas for improvement, stating, “Obviously it was not one of my best races this season, probably one of the worst, but hey, I can’t complain looking back at what this season has been.”

He emphasized the importance of learning from the experience and maintaining a positive outlook. “There’s still Olympics to go, there’s still World Championships next year, so my head is still high,” Azamati said. “Just get back to training hard and come back stronger next time.”

Azamati highlighted the significance of controlling emotions on the bigger stage, noting that running is “more mental than physical.” He expressed confidence in his ability to progress, stating, “Now that we have control of our emotions, I think it’s only going to progress from here.”