media_artricles :: 201603

Thompson, Bledman, Sorrillo exit 100

All three Trinidad and Tobago sprinters were eliminated from the men's 100 metres event, at the Olympic Games here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, today.

Keston Bledman was the fastest of the trio, clocking 10.20 seconds for fifth spot in heat five. Antiguan Cejhae Greene also ran 10.20, but had the edge in the photo finish and was awarded fourth spot and the eighth and last "fastest loser" berth on offer in the first round, Bledman missing out by thousandths of a second.

With 24 progressing to tomorrow's semis, Bledman was 25th. Rondel Sorrillo, third in heat two in 10.23 seconds, was 29th overall. And Richard "Torpedo" Thompson clocked 10.29 seconds to finish sixth in heat seven and 40th overall.

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"I gave a disappointing performance," Thompson told the Express. "It's been a very hard season for me. To be honest, early on this year I had a lot of injuries, but by Senior Champs I had found my legs. After Senior Champs, there's maybe a two-week period that I had a hamstring injury and was unable to do any work on the track for about two weeks.

"But I don't want to make that an excuse," the three-time Olympic silver medallist continued, "because in reality, leading up to the Games I had some really good sessions. The times that I hit in some of the runs was an indicator that I was ready to come here and run well. Ato (Boldon) was excited about what he was seeing. I was excited about what I was seeing and feeling. Unfortunately, it didn't come together today."

American Justin Gatlin (10.01), Ivory Coast sprinter Ben Youssef Meite (10.03), Canadian Andre de Grasse (10.04) and Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt (10.07) were the fastest men on show in round one.

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