“I definitely have a lot of confidence going into Friday,” said the 23-year-old. “I’m proud that I’ve given myself a chance for a medal. The relay medal has given me so much motivation to win another. The support, especially the British support, propels me round the track. I’m loving every second of it.”
Laviai Nielsen, however, narrowly missed out on joining her in the final, finishing third in her heat – one place outside the automatic qualifiers – and was also not among the fastest losers.
Elsewhere, Noah Lyles remained on course to emulate the 100-200 sprint double that Usain Bolt achieved in 2008, 2012 and 2016 despite looking vulnerable in the semi-finals of the 200m.
Lyles calls the longer sprint distance “his wife” – while referring to the 100m at which he has already won gold as “his mistress” – and followed up sluggish first heat on Monday by being well beaten by Letsile Tobogo in his semi-final. Lyle’s qualifying time of 20.08 sec also hardly suggested that Bolt’s 15 years world record is under much danger and he did not stop for interviews after the race. It is worth remembering, however, that Bolt was also beaten twice in the rounds of the 100m before delivering his dramatic win.
Michael Johnson, the 1996 Olympic 200m champion and a BBC pundit, was among those unimpressed but still expecting a dramatic improvement on Thursday. “Noah Lyles did not look good,” he said. “It would not surprise me if he has been busy with appearances and talking and talking and more talking in the last couple of days since he won that gold. He will continue to believe in himself, like he did with the 100m, so I expect the same here.”
