After running 20.13 to finish third in his semifinal, Justin Gatlin's individual gold medal hopes are over.



Gatlin, 34, is the reigning World silver medalist, U.S. Olympic trials champion and ranked #2 in the world heading into Rio. He finished runner-up to Usain Bolt in the 100m earlier this week.

Afterwards, Gatlin told NBC that his ankle started hurting him during his warm up. "Back in the warm up area, my ankle started stiffing up on me a little bit. I made the best of it, had a tight turn. I wish all the guys luck out there, we're getting ready for the 4x1." NBC's Lewis Johnson asked Gatlin if he thought the look that he gave [to the side] at the end of the race cost him a spot in the finals, to where Gatlin replied that he had already felt pain in his ankle coming down the homestretch. 

Gatlin is the second U.S. sprinter banged up in Rio. Trayvon Bromell finished eighth in the 100m final and later took to Twitter to announce his upcoming surgery on his achilles tendon.

LaShawn Merritt ran 19.94 to easily win his semifinal, and Usain Bolt ran a season best of 19.78 (-0.3), ahead of Andre De Grasse, who broke his own Canadian National record in their semifinal.



Bolt told the media that he's never run an easier 19.78 and that he could go after his 19.19 World record, set at the world championships in Berlin in 2009.

@usainbolt "I've never run an easier 19.78sces. It means I'm on the right track, I definitely think I can try after the WR" @televisionjam

— Kayon Raynor (@kayraynor) August 18, 2016

Usain Bolt and Andre De Grasse finish their 200m semifinals in 19.78 and 19.80, respectively. Photo: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports


First time Olympian Ameer Webb of the U.S. finished sixth in the second semifinal in 20.43, ending his Olympic campaign.

The men's 200m final is set to take place Thursday, August 18 at 8:30PM CST. It will mark the first time Bolt and Merritt have raced a 200m since 2009. Bolt is currently 3-0 against Merritt, although Merritt's primary event is the 400m and he set his 19.74 personal best this season.

The Jamaican will be going after his third-straight Olympic 200m title.

The final will feature one American and one Jamaican, a start contrast to the 2012 Olympic final where Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir swept the medals. Prior to Rio, Merritt, Gatlin and Webb were ranked #1, #2 and #3 in the world.

Automatic Qualifiers:
19.78 Usain Bolt (JAM)
19.80 Andre De Grasse (CAN)
19.94 LaShawn Merritt (USA)
20.01 Christophe Lemaitre (FRA)
20.07 Alonso Edward (PAN)
20.10 Churandy Martina (NED)

Time Qualifiers:
20.08 Adam Gemili (GBR)
20.09 Ramil Guliyev (TUR)