Commonwealth men 100m final, Omanyala’s glory, Browning fall as Ghana’s fastest man Azamati finishes 4th place
Rohan Browning’s quest for an individual Commonwealth Games medal is over after finishing sixth in the men’s 100m final.
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala took home the gold with a blistering time of 10.02 as South Africa’s Akani Simbine clocked in at 10.13 for the silver and Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon finished with 10.14 for the bronze.
Browning got off to a fast start but unfortunately quickly fell behind as the race leaders surged ahead.
Ultimately Browning crossed the line at 10.20, just 0.06 seconds off a medal.
“He wasn’t far off,” Tamsyn Manou said in commentary or Channel 7.
“He looks bitterly disappointed, but I’m OK with that because that means he wanted more.”
Speaking after the race, Browning cut a frustrated figure.
“I’m not happy with it,” Browning said.
“It was just an ugly, painful kind of race and it’s one of those tough nights.
“A month ago there’s no way I saw myself in this final. I try to take each win and race in my stride but once you’re here you just want to be on that podium. That’s what it’s all about.
“I thought about packing it in after worlds and just getting back home and into some training for next year and I am glad I decided to persist. I think one of the lessons I have learned is persistence is so much more important than patience. You have just got to keep trying things and keep at it.
“Today there were a few things I could have done to be up there but I think I was bested today. I need more training in my legs and I need a big winter off-season.”
In a cruel twist, Browning’s time of 10.10 seconds he set in the heats would have been enough for the silver medal had he repeated it in the final.
Browning was philosophical when assessing his performance after the race, telling Channel 7 he “didn’t quite have the gas”.
“It’s nice to make a final and go through rounds of running. It’s a step in the right direction, I would’ve loved to be on the podium,” he added.
“I’m not satisfied by any means, but not too beat up. It’s been one of those seasons, and always learning.”
Nigel Ellis torched for unforgivable blunder at Commonwealth Games
Jamaican sprinter Nigel Ellis may never live it down.
Ellis was cruising toward a spot in the semi-finals of the 100m at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Wednesday when he committed the cardinal sin of pulling up before the finish line with misplaced arrogance that he had done enough to get through.
His pain was Aussie Jake Doran’s gain with Australia’s second-fastest man sneaking up on Ellis’ outside to finish second in the heat – booking a guaranteed spot in the semi-finals with a time of 10.39.
For Ellis, his hopes were gone in 0.02 seconds. Having been tipped on the line with a time of 10.41, he also missed out on securing passage through to the semis as one of the fastest qualifiers finishing outside the top two in the heats by just 0.04 seconds.
He became cannon-fodder for fans on social media with video of his mistake spreading across the internet.
Australia’s fastest man Rohan Browning exploded through to the semi-finals, which will take place early on Thursday morning before the final is run at 6.30am (AEST).
Browning produced his best run of the year to send a message with a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“He looked really confident there,” Aussie athletics great Tamsyn Manou said.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side and said ‘I’ve got this’.
Meanwhile, another of Australia’s track star’s Peter Bol embarrassed the rest of the field in the heats of the men’s 800m with an imperious run on Wednesday.
The Olympics finalist won his heat and was the fastest overall qualifier despite pulling up with 50m still to run.
Bol thanked his medical team after he “rolled” his ankle on Tuesday walking in the city.
“I want to give a shout out to my medical team,” he said.
“I was limping on the way back to the accommodation (on Tuesday), and now I’m running perfectly fine. It didn’t freak me out.”
Team Australia dominated the Commonwealth Games medal tally in Birmingham in the opening five days, sitting comfortably in front – thanks largely to more dominance in the pool.
And they’ve shown no signs of slowing down on day six with a further four gold.
The women’s 4 x 100m medley relay team took home the gold as did Ariarne Titmus in the 400m freestyle while Sam Short claimed glory in the men’s 1500m freestyle
Read on for all of the latest Aussie medal news on Day Six in Birmingham!
Azamati- One of Africa’s sad news
With Kenya’s Omanyala winning gold, South Africa’s Akani Simbine taking home silver medal, it would have been a race of perfection for Africa if Ghanaian’s Benjamin Azamati clinched the bronze medal but lost out narrowly to Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon for the third place award.
Ghana’s fastest man Azamati placed fourth in the final race on Wednesday, August 3, with a timing of 10.16 seconds, two-hundredths of a second behind Yupun Abeykoon from Sri Lanka as he missed out on a medal.
Final Highlights
