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Team GB sprinters Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes saw their bid for Olympic 100m gold come to and end in the semi-finals at Stade de France.
Jamaican duo Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville were the fastest men from the semis in 9.80 and 9.81 respectively, with the top two from each heat progressing.
American Noah Lyles, the reigning world champion at the distance, was third fastest, two one hundredths of a second behind Seville, while Italy’s defending Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs squeaked through as one of the two quickest remaining finishers.
Sheffield’s Hinchliffe, who handed Lyles a wake-up call when he pipped his US challenger to the finish during Saturday’s heats, was unable to fend off the Floridian a second time, finishing third in 9.97 and faced a wait to see if he was best of the rest.
Hinchliffe said: “It was a good experience, not the result that I wanted. Definitely a lot to learn. I haven’t seen the race back.
“Maybe I should have been more relaxed, I was a bit tense at the end. A lot of mistakes. I should have been more relaxed going into it. I will do something different next time.
“I am disappointed. The time is okay but it’s where I finished in the race. I will come back stronger next year. I will not regress. It’s my first year on the scene. There is a lot more to come.
It was a good experience, not the result that I wanted. Definitely a lot to learn.— Louie Hinchliffe
“Definitely, definitely LA, I will be there (in the final). Next year as well. There are a lot of world championships between then and now. There is a lot of time.
“I haven’t spoken with Carl (Lewis) yet. He won’t be too sad with that. It’s a sub-10 run. I didn’t completely fold.”
Hinchliffe, whose personal best remains 9.95 seconds from his NCAA title-winning turn in June, was one of just three men who ran sub 10 in the heats, but on Sunday even Lyles’ compatriot Kenny Bednarek, who nabbed the last berth in the final, required 9.93 seconds to make it through.
Later that month, Hinchliffe became British champion in the absence of Hughes, the world bronze medallist, who was recovering from a hamstring injury that also saw him skip the European championships.
Hughes, who insisted he was in good form ahead of these Games, was 14th of the semi-finalists and sixth in his heat in 10.01.
He has another chance to try for a first Olympic medal when the men’s 200m heats begin on Monday.
He said said: “I am a better performer than this. Last year we ended with 9.88 on the podium and with a bronze.
“I know what I am capable of. I had to be battling with an injury.
“It kind of sucks, last minute just before the Olympics. But I am a fighter. I am very determined and that’s why I wanted to give it a go. I got the training in but the races is what I needed to get me race sharp.”
Three summers ago in Tokyo, Hughes became the first British man in 21 years to secure a place in an Olympic 100m final but was disqualified for a false start
The Anguilla born 29-year-old earlier this year agreed with nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis’ assessment that he might have won in Tokyo.
