GB’s Sharp goes out in 800m first round at World Championships
Lynsey Sharp goes out in the first round of the women’s 800m but fellow Britons Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Alexandra Bell reach…
| 2019 World Athletics Championships |
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| Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Doha Dates: 27 September-6 October |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app; Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Live; Live streams, clips and text commentary online. |
Briton Lynsey Sharp was left is disbelief as she went out of the women’s 800m on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships.
Sharp, ranked fourth in the world of those competing in Doha, ran out of steam in the home straight as she finished fourth in her heat.
The 29-year-old Scot’s time of two minutes 03.57 seconds was not good enough for a fastest losers’ spot.
Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Alexandra Bell progressed to the semi-finals.
With South Africa’s Olympic and world champion Caster Semenya absent, along with fellow Rio 2016 medallists Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Margaret Wambui of Kenya, Sharp was tipped to challenge for a medal in Monday’s final.
Semenya is not competing in Doha after governing body the IAAF introduced a rule that athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) must either take testosterone-reducing medication in order to compete in track events from 400m to the mile or change to another distance.
Despite being among the pack in the home straight, Sharp failed to find the burst of speed needed to finish in a top-three spot, which would have earned automatic qualification.
She sat on the track in shock watching the replay of the final stages of her heat.
World indoor bronze medallist Oskan-Clarke produced a brilliant sprint to take second in her heat while fellow Briton Bell, fifth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, battled her way to third.
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