BIRMINGHAM, England (August 2) —— Defending champion Akani Simbine and the African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala both advanced to the final of the men’s 100m to set up a mouth-watering clash for the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 here in Birmingham on Wednesday (3).
South Africa’s Simbine, the champion in Australia in 2018, won the first semi-final in 10.07 seconds (-0.2 m/s) to secure a place in the final as he seeks to become only the third man in history to successfully defend the title at the Commonwealth Games.
Also qualifying for the final from this semi-final heat was Rohan Browning of Australia who clocked 10.17. Read more: Day 2: Commonwealth Games 2022 track and field order of events schedule on Aug. 3
In the meantime, Omanyala was buzzing with joy again after he powered home to 10.02 (-1.2 m/s) to take the second semi-final with the fastest time of the three sections.
The Kenyan who was unable to show his best form at the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Oregon, last month after a visa issue delayed his travels to the United States, looked well rested now and seems ready to dip under 10 seconds in the final.
Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon continued his good form at these Games by securing a place in the final when taking second behind Omanyala in 10.14.
Semi-final three was very close, so much so that a total of four qualifiers advanced from this section.
Local favorite Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of England came out on top in 10.13, beating Wales sprinter Jeremiah Azu who posted a personal best of 10.15 for second place. Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati clocked 10.18 and Yupun Abeykoon ran 10.20 to advance to the final on time.
No Jamaicans made the final.
The final of the men’s 100m at the Commonwealth Games 2022 here at Alexander Stadium will go off at 4:30 pm ET.
Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s 100m semi-final results
| Semi-Final 1 – 14:11 UTC-4 – Official | |||||
| Rank | CGA | Name | Time | Record | Qualification |
| 1 | RSA | Akani SIMBINE | 10.07 | Q | |
| 2 | AUS | Rohan BROWNING | 10.17 | Q | |
| 3 | ENG | Ojie EDOBURUN | 10.3 | ||
| 4 | IVB | Rikkoi BRATHWAITE | 10.31 | ||
| 5 | JAM | Conroy JONES | 10.33 | ||
| 6 | GUY | Emanuel ARCHIBALD | 10.43 | ||
| 7 | TTO | Eric HARRISON JR | 10.44 | ||
| 8 | ANT | Cejhae GREENE | 10.45 | ||
| 9 | NGR | Godson Oke OGHENEBRUME | 10.52 |
| Semi-Final 2 – 14:18 UTC-4 – Official | |||||
| Rank | CGA | Name | Time | Record | Qualification |
| 1 | KEN | Ferdinand OMANYALA | 10.02 | Q | |
| 2 | CMR | Emmanuel ESEME | 10.14 | Q | |
| 3 | NGR | Favour Oghene Tejiri ASHE | 10.24 | ||
| 4 | JAM | Kemar BAILEY-COLE | 10.25 | ||
| 5 | GHA | Sean SAFO-ANTWI | 10.36 | ||
| 6 | TTO | Jerod ELCOCK | 10.38 | ||
| 7 | SCO | Adam THOMAS | 10.4 | ||
| 8 | AUS | Jake DORAN | 10.4 | ||
| 9 | SKN | Nadale BUNTIN | 10.51 |
| Semi-Final 3 – 14:26 UTC-4 – Official | |||||
| Rank | CGA | Name | Time | Record | Qualification |
| 1 | ENG | Nethaneel MITCHELL-BLAKE | 10.13 | Q | |
| 2 | WAL | Jeremiah AZU | 10.15 | PB | Q |
| 3 | GHA | Benjamin AZAMATI | 10.18 | q | |
| 4 | SRI | Yupun ABEYKOON | 10.2 | q | |
| 5 | KEN | Samwel Bitonyake IMETA | 10.24 | ||
| 6 | NAM | Gilbert HAINUCA | 10.29 | ||
| 7 | NGR | Raymond EKEVWO | 10.36 | ||
| 8 | TTO | Kion BENJAMIN | 10.43 | ||
| 9 | LCA | Stephan CHARLES | 10.53 | PB |
