Clarke relieved after heats mistake

ROSHAWN CLARKE admits that he learnt an almost costly lesson as he scraped through to the semi-finals of the 400-metre hurdles at the World Athletics Championships by the narrowest of margins, following a near-terminal moment of complacency.

The 21-year-old quarter-mile hurdler was left with a torturously nervous wait inside the Japan National Stadium, while it needed a dramatic four-way photo finish before teammate Malik James-King joined him in progressing from the heats.

But there was no such good fortune for a baffled Assinie Wilson, who finished a disappointing eighth in his race.

James-King emerged from a dramatic first heat of five as unsure as mwost onlookers as to whether he had obtained a top-four placing to earn automatic qualification.

“I had a shuffle around the top corner which threw me a little, and I had to fight for it coming off of the last bend,” explained the former Calabar High School student.

“Against guys of this standard, you can’t afford to make a mistake, and one stumble made it very difficult.”

James-King finished as one of four runners split by barely a tenth of a second, with third-placed Brit Tyri Donovan throwing himself horizontally across the line to grab third.

The next three were separated by just milliseconds as James-King was given a season’s best of 44.27 to claim the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot.

Two races later there was no such good fortune for Wilson, who, after a fine start, wilted inexplicably to trail in eighth in 49.91.

“It’s far from Jamaica coming here, and not to make the semi-finals is really disappointing,” he said.

“I felt ready, but as soon as I came to the second hurdle I started to wheeze, and I searched for something more but couldn’t find it.

“I was in Budapest in 2023 but didn’t get to race through [due to] injury, but I’m sure I will come back fitter and stronger.”

Then a misjudgment by Clarke almost sent him to pack his bags in the team hotel.

Cruising off of the last hurdle, Clarke was pipped on the line for fourth place by Costa Rica’s Gerald Drummond.

“It’s only my third year and I’m still learning,” admitted an annoyed Clarke.

“I’ve never been in a situation when I had to wait for the times, as I’m always in the big Qs (automatic qualification) and never the small qs (fastest non-automatic qualifying times).

“I can say that this is a learning lesson - always run through the line, but I was trying to conserve as much energy as possible.

“I glanced left and right off of the last hurdle but didn’t see the guy coming up on my right!”

Drummond’s late dip was enough to get the verdict by two-hundredths of a second, leaving Clarke relieved to claim the very final place in the next round after an agonising wait to see if 48.83 would be good enough.