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Dina Asher-Smith bounced back from 100 metres heartbreak to snap up a place in the Olympic 200 metres final at Stade de France.
The 28-year-old, who was reduced to tears after missing out on Saturday’s final showdown in the women’s 100 metres, needed to finish in the top two of the second semi-final to guarantee herself another shot at a first individual Olympic medal.
She got the job done in 22.31 seconds on Monday night, storming through the second corner before American Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, charged ahead in the final stretch to cross the line first in 21.86.
After securing her spot, Asher-Smith simply stated: “It was good because I didn’t use much energy, I’m saving what I can for tomorrow.”
Daryll Neita, who missed out on 100 metres bronze by just four one hundredths of a second, ensured Asher-Smith would not be the lone Briton in the hunt for a medal after securing her own spot from semi-final three.
It was another USA-Team GB one-two after Neita, who fought of surging Ivorian Jessika Gbai’s late challenge, snapped up the second spot in 22.24 behind American Brittany Brown.
Neita said: “I qualified for the final that’s all you need to say.
“Two finals, you can’t knock that, it’s an amazing achievement.
“I feel really overwhelmed and happy about how I performed in the 100.
“I’m just carrying that confidence and energy through. All I can do now is rest and get ready for tomorrow.”
Bianca Williams ran a season’s-best 22.58 from a first heat won by Julien Alfred, who claimed a first-ever Olympic medal for the small Caribbean island nation of St Lucia when she beat American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson to women’s 100 metres gold on Saturday night.
Williams’ time left her fourth from her heat and she bowed out after it soon proved under the mark needed to qualify from the best of the rest.
Thomas was the fastest of the semi-finalists with Alfred second, and Nigeria’s Favour Ofili rounded out the top three in 22.05 ahead of Brown.
Neita, also looking for her first individual Olympic podium finish, was fifth on the list, while Asher-Smith was the second-slowest of the eight women through.
Noah Lyles, fresh from his 100 metres triumph on Sunday night, qualified for the 200 metres from Monday’s heats, the first step in his quest to achieve at least the individual double in France.
He is also expected to participate in the men’s 4×100 metres relay, and has openly advocated for a spot on the men’s 4×400 team as well, in a bid to achieve something Jamaican eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt never did by winning four golds in one Games.
Lyles, the reigning world champion at the distance, walked away with bronze on his Olympic debut three summers ago in Tokyo.
He was sixth overall in 20.19 on Monday night, his US team-mates Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton the only two to dip below 20 seconds
Lyles said: “It’s my favourite race because I feel it shows all my abilities.
“I spent years working on the 100 but the 200 is where it’s at.
“This is where I get to show my speed and endurance and show that I’m stronger than everyone else.”
