• 25-year-old produced some of Saudi delegation’s most competitive performances of Olympics, but will miss out on Thursday’s final

Ali Khaled

RIYADH: Saudi sprinter Mazen Al-Yassin has been eliminated from the men’s 400 meters at Tokyo 2020 on Monday after finishing fourth in the second semifinal at the Japanese capital’s Olympic Stadium.

Despite a fine run that saw him post a time of 45.37 seconds, the 25-year-old will now miss out on Thursday’s final.

Michael Cherry of the US, and Christopher Taylor of Jamaica, finished first and second and will be in the field of eight vying for the medals on Thursday. Steven Solomon of Australia came in third, 0.22 of a second ahead of Al-Yassin.

📸| أنهى لاعب المنتخب السعودي لألعاب القوى العدّاء 'مازن الياسين' مشاركته في دورة الألعاب الأولمبية #طوكيو2020 بحلوله رابعاً بزمن '45.37' ثانية، في المجموعة الثانية للدور نصف النهائي لسباق الـ400م.

القادم أجمل 'مازن' باذن الله 🙏#كلنا_السعودية 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/XusMH1NLDC

— Saudi Olympic | الأولمبية السعودية (@saudiolympic) August 2, 2021

 Al-Yassin had produced a thrilling run when winning heat two at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday to progress to the following day’s semifinals against some of the world’s best short-distance runners. A personal best time of 45.16 seconds saw him finish ahead of Kevin Borlee of Belgium and Ricky Petrucciani of Switzerland.

The runner received his call-up to the Olympics on July 2, one of the last of Saudi Arabia’s 33 athletes to confirm his place in Tokyo.

His exit from the Games means that Tarek Hamdi, who will take part in the karate 75-kilogram category on Friday, is the last remaining Saudi at Tokyo 2020.