Nakaayi crossed the finishing line 2 minutes 01.05 seconds, a time better than what she posted in the opening heats, but it was not enough to grab her a slot in the finals. USA’s Athing Mu won the heat in 1:58.1.
Middle distances runner Halima Nakaayi failed to qualify for the women’s 800m finals at the ongoing World athletics championship in Eugene, Oregon.
The world 800m women’s defending champion finished in the 8th position in heat three of the semi-finals on Saturday.
Nakaayi 27, crossed the finishing line 2 minutes 01.05 seconds, a time better than what she posted in the opening heats, but it was not enough to grab her a slot in the finals. USA’s Athing Mu won the heat in 1:58.1.
To qualify for the final, Nakaayi had to finish in the top positions of her heat or else be among the next fastest two athletes across all the semi-final heats, but she failed to use any of the two provisions.
On the track, Nakaayi looked focused in the first 100 meters, but as the race unfolded, Nakaayi surrendered the leading pack and settled for the second pack.
The gap continued as the top two athletes including USA’s Athing MU and Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji dominated the race.
It was a disappointment for Nakaayi who entered the semi-finals with the hope of continuing her quest to defend the world title. She had previously qualified for the semis after finishing second in a time of 2:01.41 on Friday, but the semi-final classy heat would not let her live the dream.
Since last year, Nakaayi has struggled to find her form since she suffered an injury in April.
Although she later recovered from the injury towards the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, she failed to progress to the finals. Nakaayi came last running a time of 2:04.44.
However, this year, she had started the season with huge hopes and even claimed a bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The 27-year-old also had at least good times running under 2 minutes three times this season, and her season-best time was 1:58.68 which she posted at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway.
After a disappointing spell at the world championships, the middle distance runner will now join her counterpart Winnie Nanyondo and Ronald Musagala to focus on the forthcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
