Julien Alfred crusies to 200m semis in Paris, Shericka Jackson pulls out

Newly minted women's 100-metre champion Julien Alfred showed little signs of rust at the Stade de France in the first 200m heat at the Paris Olympics on August 4, advancing to the semifinals with a comfortable 22.41 seconds clocking to win her heat.

Running out of lane four, Alfred, who copped St Lucia's first-ever Olympic medal a day earlier with a blistering run of 10.72 seconds in the 100m final, outclassed the heat one field to cruise to victory. France's Gemima Joseph (22.72) grabbed second, with Sweden's Julia Henriksson, who clocked a national record time of 22.79, taking the third and final automatic qualifying spot.

There was a late withdrawal which stunned the track world, though, as reigning 200m world champion Shericka Jackson, who was drawn in heat three, pulled out of the competition before her race. Jackson was the pre-Olympic favourite and also came into the Olympics with a world number one ranking in the event.

A four-time world champion and a member of Jamaica's champion 4x100m relay team at the Tokyo Olympics, Jackson had also withdrawn from competing in the 100m event at these Olympics.

On August 3, Jackson's countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a three-time Olympic champ, withdrew from the second 100m semifinal which included Alfred and 2023 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson.

Alfred's semifinal run of 10.84 was too much for Richardson to handle, and she also beat the American into second spot in the final.

The women's 200m semifinals will run off from 2.45 pm (TT time) on August 5, and will be preceded by a repechage round which runs off at 6.50 am on the same day.