Olympics: Ireland's Derval O'Rourke tonight equalled the time the she set in her 100m hurdles heat on Monday, but it wasn't good enough to progress from the semi-finals as a fastest runner-up.
The Corkwoman was drawn in lane two and was out of the blocks very quickly, along with eventual winner Sally Pearson (12.39 seconds), but was soon reeled in by Jessica Zelinka of Canada (12.66), Lolo Jones of America (12.71) and Britain’s Tiffany Porter (12.79).
O’Rourke was sure she had a better run in her after the heats and was unhappy not to improve on 12.91, which was 15th fastest of the 22 runners in the end.
"I’m a little bit disappointed," O'Rourke told RTÉ afterwards. "I feel like I was good enough to be in the final, but it wasn’t meant to be and you just have to take it on the chin and move on I think.
"I always feel there’s more in the tank because if I didn’t there’d be no point in coming out and racing and that’s what it is when you’re an athlete – you live in a world where you always think there’s more. That’s one of my key strengths, thinking there’s more because generally there’s only a few people who ever think there’s more in me and I’m one of them, so that’s life. It’s the Olympic semi-final. I think I was good enough to be a finalist and I’ll just have to live with that now."
O'Rourke suggested it wasn't the end for her and revealed she had at least one other target ahead of her.
"I’d like to win a European indoors. That’s one thing I haven’t done. That’s in a few months. I guess I’ll go away and have a think about that. This is still very fresh, so I’m not really going to look too far beyond this for another couple of hours anyway."
Pearson, Olympic silver medallist from Beijing, was quickest of the qualifiers after her season’s best, ahead of America’s Dawn Harper (12.46) from the first heat. Austria’s Beate Schrott was second to Harper, edging out Jamaican Shermaine Williams.
America's Kellie Wells and Turkey's Nevin Yanit were the automatic qualifiers from the third heat, with third place Phylicia George (Canada) joining Jones in the final as fastest qualifiers.
Fionnuala Brittonfailed to qualify for the Women's 5000 metres final, despite running a personal best time of 15.12.97. The Irish athlete finished 10th in the first of two heats, with the first five in each semi-final race plus the five fastest losers qualifying for the final.
Britton had to hope that the sixth place finisher didn’t beat her time in Heat 2 but unfortunately for the European Cross Country champion, four athletes managed to go quicker. It was a great, if unrewarding effort, from the Irish athlete although she took little consolation in that fact.
“These races are all about getting to finals not times,” she said, when asked whether she would take any satisfaction from the personal best. “I knew I couldn’t dominate the heat. You’re not going to have a chance if you don’t stay (with the lead group). I don’t think I did anything majorly wrong in the race.”
Paul Hessionfailed to advance to the semi-finals of the 200m after a fifth-place finish in his Heat 4 of seven. The Athenry athlete ran 20.69, outside a recent season's best of 20.54, in a race won by Jamaican Yohan Blake, who led home the field in a time of 20.38.
Hession admitted: “It wasn’t to be. It was a tough heat. It (my time) should have been around 20.50 but you get those days. I probably got out okay but lost a little on the second half of the bend. Them’s the breaks I got it slightly wrong.”
Usain Bolt began his bid to add a second Olympic 200 metres crown to his two 100m titles with a hugely comfortable victory in the first of the heats in a time of 20.39.
The Jamaican, who clocked an Olympic record 9.63 seconds to retain his 100m crown on Sunday, cruised to victory in 20.39secs. He has said he needs to win 200m gold again before he achieves his aim of becoming a "legend".
"It was an easy run, I'm enjoying it, it's my favourite event," said Bolt. "It's getting pretty chilly. They say the weather should be good on Thursday [for the final] so we'll see."
Asked what he did to celebrate his 100m success, he said: "Nothing. I just chilled, met some friends and sat and talked."
Bolt's countryman and training partner Yohan Blake also breezed through, slowing down well before the line to clock 20.38s. Blake had to settle for silver in the 100m, but is out to deny Bolt a second gold, having beaten him over 200m at the Jamaican trials
France's Christophe Lemaitre went quicker than both Jamaicans in winning his heat in 20.34 and Bolt nodded in approval as he watched his rival's run on a TV screen.
Blake, dubbed 'The Beast' because of his prodigious work ethic, said: "I did what my coach said and qualified. I'm feeling good, that's why they call me the beast. The track is fast. I appreciate anything is possible. The 100m taught me a lot and it's given me confidence. I love this event."
Asked whether he could beat Bolt, he said: "I'm not really focusing on beating him. I'm concentrating on running my race."
Ecuador's Alex Quinonez was in fact the fastest qualifier in a national record of 20.28. Briton Christian Malcolm went through in second place in his heat in 20.59, but James Ellington went out, finishing sixth in his race in 21.23.