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Olympics: Why Shericka Jackson failed to qualify for 200m finals

Italy's Dalia Kaddari beat Jackson by four-thousandths of a second

shericka-jackson-reuter Shericka Jackson of Jamaica reacts after competing in heat 5 of the women's 200m race at the Tokyo Olympics | Reuters

It will, perhaps, be one replay that Shericka Jackson would never want to watch again.

The Jamaican sprint star, having won the 100m bronze in women's 100m race, was expected to add to her medals tally in the 200m finals.

But her hopes were dashed in the most unexpected of ways, as she failed to qualify for the finals, having finished fourth. And she had nobody else to blame but herself.

She seemed to be cruising in lane 2 at the heats 5 in 200m, but eased up a bit too early as she neared the finish line. She did not even bother to check if her fellow runners were closing in on her.

That was the opening Italy's Dalia Kaddari needed, as she burst in at the last moment to beat Jackson by four-thousandths of a second to clinch the third and final qualifying position in the heats. Jackson, third-fastest in the world in 200m this year, finished fourth with a timing of 23.26 seconds.

Her two compatriots in the 100m race - Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – however, advanced without any fuss. Thompson-Herah, who won the gold in 100m, finished a comfortable third in 22.86 seconds, while Fraser-Pryce won her heat in 22.22.

The semifinals take place later on Monday with the final on Tuesday.

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