Australia’s Jye Edwards has narrowly missed out on a spot in the 1500m semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics following what he described as a “messy race”.
Edwards was interrupted during the final lap and forced to dodge Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski, who fell with just under 400-metres remaining during the second qualifying heat.
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Lewandowski had attempted to push out before tripping over and holding up Edwards, which momentarily slowed the Aussie’s pace.
The 23-year-old Australian finished seventh with a time of 3:42.62.
“Absolutely brutal,” Edwards said after the race. “I had a good preparation leading in but unfortunately I couldn’t get it done.”
“It’s quite frustrating… It was a messy race. That’s the Olympics, it’s cutthroat.
“I thought I was in a pretty good spot early, then everyone came around, kind of got swamped a bit, probably didn’t hold my position well enough in the end.
“I gave it everything.”
Fellow Aussies Ollie Hoare and Stewart McSweyn qualified for the semi-final during with strong performances in their heats.
Hoare finished with a time of 3:36.09 during the first heat, while McSweyn finished third in his heat with a time of 3:36.39.
Both are considered strong chances of securing a berth in the final.
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