Qatar’s Femi sets 100m Asian Games record in the rain

Sport360 staff 09:11 29/09/2014
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  • Sprint champ: Femi Ogunode.

    Qatar’s Femi Ogunode won the 100m gold in a new Asian record time of 9.93 seconds despite wet conditions in Incheon yesterday.

    Nigeria-born Ogunode, who won the 200-400m double at the 2010 Asiad, beat China’s Su Bingtan, with Japan’s Kei Takase third.

    Hopes for an Asia-born athlete finally breaking the 10-second barrier sank with Su crossing in 10.10.

    Ogunode’s time bettered the 9.99 that team-mate Samuel Francis ran at the Asian Championships in 2007.

    Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Kenyaborn runner Ruth Jebet finally claimed her gold medal after the Gulf kingdom fought to get her reinstalled as Asian Games 3,000m steeplechase champion.

    The 17-year-old had been distraught after her disqualification for stepping inside the track was announced just as the medal was to be presented on Saturday night.

    After a new ceremony 24 hours later, Jebet said even Bahrain’s monarch, King Hamad bin Isa Al- Khalifa, had called her to promise that the title would be restored. Bahraini officials expressed fury at the way the incident was handled.

    Jebet stood emotionless on the podium for the new ceremony with second-placed runner Li Zhenzhu of China and bronze winner Lalita Babar of India.

    “After the problem I had yesterday with the line I was so worried,” she said. “But my king promised me that we would get back my medal.”

    Jebet was reinstated after a review of the race found that her mistake on the penultimate lap had not impeded another runner or influenced the race outcome.

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