Paris 2024: Azamati paired with Lyles, Saminu gets Kerley and De Grasse in men’s 100m semis

Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati and Abdul Rasheed Saminu will compete in the men’s 100m semi-finals at the ongoing Paris Olympic Games.

Azamati will run in Heat 1, Lane 3, while Saminu will be in Heat 3, Lane 8.

The event starts at 6:05 PM Ghana time.

Both athletes secured their semi-final spots by finishing second and third in their respective heats on Saturday.

Azamati clocked 10.08s, coming in behind Jamaican Kishane Thompson, who won the heat with a time of 10.00s.

Saminu finished Heat 7 in third place with a time of 10.06s, trailing Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi and reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs.

Azamati will face a tough semi-final lineup, including world champion Noah Lyles (9.81s), Jamaica’s Oblique Seville (9.82s), Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (9.96s), and Nigeria’s Favour Ashe (9.94s).

Saminu’s heat features Tokyo Olympics silver medalist and former world champion Fred Kerley (9.76s) in Lane 7, alongside Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala (9.77s), former champion Andre De Grasse (9.89s), Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (9.83s), and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson (9.77s).

To reach the final, Azamati and Saminu must finish among the top two in their heats or secure one of the two fastest times across the three semi-final heats to be among the eight athletes competing in the final.

Benjamin Azamati