All three Jamaican men booked their tickets to the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles on the first session of day one (30 July) in track and field at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Heat number one, which featured Kemar Mowatt, was won by Abderrahman Samba of Qatar in 48.38 seconds. Mowatt secured fourth place in 49.06 seconds, which earned him an automatic spot in the semi-finals.
Jamaica’s national champion Jaheel Hyde won heat number two in 48.54 seconds fighting off the fast-finishing Kenny Selmon of the USA, 48.61 seconds.
Heat number three saw the world record holder over the event, Karsten Warholm from Norway, cruising to victory in a time of 48.65 seconds.
The third Jamaican in action, Shawn Rowe, was third in heat number four with a season’s best of 49.18 seconds. British Virgin Islands’ Kyron McMaster won the heat in a time of 48.79 seconds.
The fifth and final heat saw the third-fastest man in the history of the 400mh Rai Benjamin easing past Estonia’s Rasmus Mägi to take the win in a time of 48.60 seconds.
