Updated 13.45
IRISH ATHLETES Mark English and Thomas Barr both missed out on World Championship final place in their respective events in Beijing today.
Barr finished fourth in his 400m hurdle semi-final. The Waterford man once again produced an impressive final stretch, appearing to be trailing at the turn only to overtake most of the field and force a photo finish for third in a time of 48.71.
Unfortunately, Barr’s time in the ‘fastest loser’ slot was short lived and the pace of the second semi-final pushed him out of the running.
Barr may take some small consolation in that he was at least in good company through the early exit. After Bershawn Jackson lost out to Barr in yesterday’s heat, today the USA lost another star to the cut as Johnny Dutch finished fifth in a time of 48.74 in the second semi-final.
After watching one fast and one slow semi over 800 metres (the latter comfortably won by Olympic champion David Rudisha) English knew what was required in the third race. However, it was quickly apparent that the early pace was slightly too much for the Donegal man and he was last to complete the first lap.
English did make up ground towards the end, battling in to fifth place in a time of 1:45.55.
Earlier this morning, Ireland’s Alex Wright suffered a late disqualification in the 20km walk.
After a hour and 23 minutes of walking the Beijing streets, Wright was shown a third red card and so had nothing to show for his efforts.
Originally published 12.00
