Jereem Richards missed out on the final in the men's 400 metres at the World Athletics Championships Budapest23 in Hungary on Tuesday.

The T&T quartermiler crossed fourth in semifinal heat one in a time of 44.76 seconds and did not progress to the medal race set for Thursday.

The first two runners across the line did it in personal best times. Winner Jamaican Antonio Watson (44.13) and runner-up Vernon Norwood (44.26) of the United States were the automatic qualifiers from the opening heat which saw third-place finisher South African Wayde Van Niekerk, a two-time 400m World champion, moving on to the final as one of the fastest losers with a time of 44.65.

Richards had the eighth fastest time overall but only the first two in each heat qualify automatically and the next two fastest times.

The other finalists are last year's bronze medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain, who won the second heat with 44.26, American Quincy Hall (44.43), winner of heat three, Grenadian Kirani James, second in heat two, with 44.58, Norway's Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen (44.70) third in heat two and Sean Bailey of Jamaican (44.94), second in heat three.