Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu did not progress to the men’s 100 metres final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo after placing fourth in his semi-final heat on Sunday.
The 21-year-old clocked 10.08s in a race won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who crossed the line in 9.86s. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo finished second in 9.94s, securing a season’s best, while South Africa’s Gift Leotlela came third in 9.97s.
Only the first two finishers in each semi-final and the next two fastest times overall advanced to the final.
Elsewhere, South Africa’s Akani Simbine recorded 9.96s to progress as one of the fastest qualifiers outside the automatic places in Heat 1. His countryman Leotlela’s 9.97s from Saminu’s heat 3 secured the other non-automatic spot.
As a result, athletes including Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (10.03s), Canada’s Jerome Blake (10.03s), Wales’ Jeremiah Azu (10.05s), and Saminu (10.08s) missed out.
There will be two South Africans in the men’s 100m final later today.
Behind the Ghanaian in his heat were Canada’s Andre De Grasse (10.09s), Britain’s Romell Glave (10.09s), Nigeria’s Israel Okon (10.14s), and the USA’s Courtney Lindsey (10.18s).
This was Saminu’s first appearance at a World Championships, where he advanced to the semi-final stage before exiting the competition.
