PETALING JAYA: Sprinter Azeem Fahmi crashed out of the 100m event at the Paris Olympics, after qualifying for the main draw with a second-place finish in a preliminary heat earlier.
The US-based Azeem, who was given a wildcard to take part in the Games, finished last in his eight-man Round 1 with a time of 10.45s, well below his national record of 10.09s set two years ago.
Earlier, Azeem had made it to Round 1 by finishing second to Gambia’s Ebrahima Camara in a preliminary heat. He clocked 10.42s, against Camara’s 10.29s.
Only 14 runners advanced to the main draw.
“The upcoming race is going to be the real one, so I’m going to give my all. Hopefully, I can survive,” Bernama had quoted him as saying.
The world and Olympic records for the 100m sprint are still held by Jamaican legend Usain Bolt, with times of 9.58s (August 2009 in Berlin) and 9.63s (August 2012 in London), respectively.