Tokyo 2020 : Day 11 Athletics

Josh Kerr Age: 23 Hometown: Scotland: Edinburgh Result: Sixth in heat 1 in a time of 3:36.29, qualifying for the men's 1500m semi-finals as a next fastest qualifier. The semi-finals take place on Thursday. On his performance “I was really frustrated with my positioning and there was some shoving, and I was going to make a hard move at 500m to go. At 200m to go, I was like, 'I am really going to pay for this in the home stretch'. I was just trying to stay focused and push all the way, but it just wasn’t a good run for me. I am fit and ready and I have had no problems. There are just no excuses for that. I just raced it badly. “I knew there was at least five people around me, so I was pushing all the way to the line. I knew as soon as it said photo that I had lost it because I could see him. "We race and we race, and we race, and I have great races but today just wasn’t one of them. It’s not really the best time to have a bad race but that’s just part of the sport and you can come back and fight another day or feel sorry for yourself." On what went wrong “I was good the first 200m or something like that, but I was out wide, and everyone kept coming round and round and I needed to settle, and I didn’t. I was antsy and I made mistakes constantly because I was pushing at points I shouldn’t be and ended up at the same position. It’s rookie racing really but that is how it is." Jake Wightman Age: 27 Hometown: Nottingham Result: Third in heat 2 in a time of 3:41.18, qualifying for the men's 1500m semi-finals, which take place on Thursday. On his performance "It was fine, but hotter than I thought it was going to be. "It’s the most nerve racking round isn’t it, you’re worried you’re going to be embarrassed. I’m glad I manged to stay on my feet and get through. "I had a smooth enough ride, I think I got a spike wound, had few pushes but, there was the fall which I’m glad I didn’t even notice until the end. "The heats are the worse, because you’ve come all this way and no-one wants to get knocked out in the heat or expects to get knocked out in the heat, so you just want to get past and know how you are running to get through to the semi-final." On his spike wound "Yes I’m good. It makes me look tough, doesn’t it?" On 1500m qualification "Whatever is on paper doesn’t really count for this – it’s all about how you position yourself and how well you race. "I tried to make sure I stayed in as good a position as possible which felt pretty good in the end, I didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard and felt like I could have probably eased in a little bit more, but we’ve got a day off after this so it’s not like we’ll be fighting for recovery." Jake Heyward Age: 22 Hometown: Wales: Cardiff Result: First in heat 3 in a time of 3:36.15, qualifying for the men's 1500m semi-finals, which take place on Thursday On his performance "I don’t think it could have gone much better. Safely through, that’s the main thing, getting through the rounds comfortably and I felt really good today and hopefully that bodes well going into the semi-final. "You have to have a few scenarios, you have to be versatile, it could be fast, could be slow, so you’ve got to be ready for that. I think I was well prepared. I think I always give my best performances in championships and I hope that showed a glimpse of what I can do. "You can’t take anything for granted at the Olympics, you’ve got to be prepared for anything and I was prepared to run super hard today, so that was my mindset going in. Luckily because I didn’t have to run that hard it felt quite comfortable, so it was good." On training "I’ve had consistent training since March, which is probably the most consistency I’ve had in the past two years, and that’s the main thing actually that I’m healthy. As long as I’m healthy I’m in with a shot." On his coach "I think my coach, Mark [Rowland], is a genius, and I think together we’ve figured out a plan for me and what works for my body, and hopefully I can show that in the next rounds because it’s only going to get tougher. "I need to wait and see what semi-final I’m in, and sort of gauge off the other people, and then also play to my strengths as well because it’s my race at the end of the day." Name: Jodie Williams Age: 27 Hometown: Hertfordshire: Welwyn Garden City Result: First in heat 2 in a time of 50.99, qualifying for the women's 400m semi-finals, which take place on Wednesday On the track "It’s a nice track. It is a beautiful track – it feels just like London, genuinely feels exactly the same as London. I feel like it’s the layout – I feel like I’m at home on that track for sure." On her performance "It felt great, like I didn’t really put a huge amount into any of it really and I felt really smooth in that first 300m and I just tried to put myself in a really good position coming off the top bend. I wanted to take the win because I know how important the semi-finals are so yes I am happy with it." On her plan "I executed my plan, I stayed nice and smooth, didn’t put too much into the first 300m really and got myself into a really good position to come home. I’m happy with it." On her prep "You’ve seen me all year doubling up in every competition I’ve gone to - that’s been preparation for the rounds. 400m rounds are easier than 200m , they’re just a little less intense and I recover more from this kind of work than I do the speed, so I can afford to put a lot into every round. "I’ll have to put a lot into that semi to make the final obviously so as I say, I’ve been practicing all year for this." Ama Pipi Age: 25 Hometown: London: Edmonton Result: Fourth in a time of 51.17 in heat 3, qualifying for the semi-finals of the women's 400m as a next fastest qualifier. The semi-finals take place on Wednesday. On her performance “It was really good. I am just so inspired by what is happening at these Games, so I am not putting any limit on myself. I felt like I ran really well, I wanted to get the automatic spot, but I think I am fast enough to get through to the semis." On making the semi-final “Getting through is always the aim and anything is possible if you just believe so I feel good. I have just been filled with inspiration and belief, so I am having a really good time. As a little girl I have always wanted to compete here so now that I am actually here it’s really cool. "I am just going to go for it and give my absolute best. I am taking one day at a time and trying to stay in the moment, and I am having a really good time.” Ben Williams Age: 29 Hometown: Staffordshire: Stoke-on-Trent Result: 12th in Group B with a best effort of 16.30m, missing out on the triple jump final. On his performance “I am just heartbroken. The body feels great, and the mind is right, and it just didn’t click today. We had surgery in November and the recovery from that wasn’t quite as fast, so we didn’t actually get into triple jumping until quite a while after and that showed in the runway and in my technical approach going into today." On wanting to make a final one day “I think I am more than capable of making an Olympic final. If you told me beforehand that 16.83m would have made the final, I would have snapped at the chance. It’s not out of the realms of possibility for me at the minute. I put myself on the back front straight away with getting a no jump in round one and that sort of mirrors my whole season." On feeling like he missed an opportunity “It’s heart-breaking, because if they had all gone out there and jumped 17.30m, then that is an easier pill to swallow. My first round was probably in the 80s/90s. I felt really good, but I think lack of being able to work on the runway and the jump through the season. I don’t want to be here [not making finals], I want to be making finals. I think I am more than capable and I’m quality enough to do that and I don’t want to just keep making teams and not making finals. We will sit down and see if my body holds up enough to carry on.” Adam Gemili Age: 27 Hometown: London Result: Pulled up injured in his men's 200m heat On the disappointment of pulling up "The last run, literally the last run before I came into the call room, the last blocks start and I felt it go. It’s my hamstring. I had to try but I’m in so much pain right now – I said to my physio, just strap it up and let me at least try to push out but I can tell straight away. "You don’t just cramp up when you sprint it was a tear. I cant believe this has happened." Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake Age: 27 Hometown: London Result: Fifth in a time of 20.56 seconds, missing out on the men's 200m semi-finals On his performance “It wasn’t enough to get through today and unfortunately I won’t be able to progress, and I will ask more from myself in the future. “It was a season’s best time, but you have to take that with a grain of salt and understand that I am moving forwards, just a little slower than I want to." On the relay “I’m just going to keep training and remain sharp and keep my mind in the game and if called upon go forward with the relay." On Adam’s injury “I’m going to cool down and refocus and try to keep my morale as high as possible. The guys who were in the 100m did exceptionally well. "Adam unfortunately pulled up and we have to console him and keep his mind in the game because he is an important member of the group and move forward.” Abigail Irozuru Age: 31 Hometown: Manchester Result: 11th with a best effort of 6.51m in the women's long jump final On her performance "Today I did not, unfortunately, do what I came to do. I did think there was more in my legs but my runway was just quite off, and I couldn’t quite put it together. "For me I was probably thrown a little bit by the fact that in the first round the ladies had all jumped over 6.80, and then I’d fouled in the first round, so I knew that I needed to do the second best performance of my life or more to get into that top eight. "Normally my runway is spot on and I was really thrown by that, even in the final round I was well behind the board, and it just didn’t come together." On making the final "You always want to be there at the end, in the mix, because anything can happen, so if you’re in those final three rounds you have three more chances to get into the medals. "For me I was just super happy for Malaika [Mihambo, gold medallist] because I just feel like she’s a friend, and you know when you just feel like someone deserves that? "So I’m really happy to see that in the final round, she was able to pull out that 7m leap to get that gold medal. "This is my third time lucky – I didn’t make 2012, ruptured my achilles in 2016, took a couple of years off in retirement and now I’m here, so being an Olympic finalist can’t be taken away from me. "I would have preferred to be amongst the top eight and to be a higher tier Olympic finalist if one can call it that, but this is the way it’s unfolded and I’m just blessed and I’m thankful. It’s been a journey but I’m so thankful for it." Jazmin Sawyers Age: 27 Hometown: Staffordshire: Stoke-on-Trent Result: Eighth with a best effort of 6.80m in the women's long jump final On her performance "I'm disappointed. Any Olympic final is an achievement but at this point in my career I think I would be doing myself a disservice if I was satisfied with eighth place." On podium potential "I think in a competition like that, where there were no crazy distances, it was an opportunity to get on the podium and I couldn't manage that today which I am disappointed by, but I still did well but it's just not what I want." On a tough cut "I just focus on the next round and make sure I have my cues from my coach and thought about my next jump and if I didn't get it then I could reassess then, but you've got to act like you're going to get it. Turns out round two was my best jump to fight for that spot. 6.80m is a tough cut off point for top eight."