Jereem Richards advances to Olympic men's 400m final

Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards kept his Olympic dream alive after advancing to the Olympic men’s 400m final at the Stade de France on August 6.

Running out of lane seven in the semifinal one of three, Richards placed second after clocking 44.33 seconds. American Quincy Hall won the heat in 43.95s.

Both athletes automatically advanced to the final (top two in each heat and next two fastest times), which runs off on August 7, from 3.20pm (TT time).

Richards had a good start out of the blocks and over the first 200m. A strong surge from Hall after the halfway mark saw him take control of the race and move Richards into second spot.

Eventual third-placed Botswanan Collen Kebinatshipi (44.43s) tried to catch Richards over the final 50m but the TT athlete proved superior and held out to seal the second automatic qualifying spot.

Three-time Olympic medallist Kirani James of Grenada topped heat two in a season’s best time of 43.78s while Zambian Muzala Samukonga was second in a national record time of 43.81s.

Three-time World Championships medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith was the top finisher in the third semi-final, clocking 44.07s. American Michael Norman was second in 44.26s and third Nigerian Samuel Ogazi (44.41s) advanced as one of the two fastest other qualifiers.

The other fastest qualifier into the final was American Christopher Bailey, who was third in heat two, and stopped the clock on 44.31s.