Alfred powers into Tuesday’s 200m final

PARIS, CMC – Julien Alfred’s dream Olympic debut continued as she stormed into the finals of the women’s 200 metres in convincing fashion at the Stade de Paris on Monday.

Fresh from her historic gold medal winning run in the 100 metres on Saturday, the St Lucian clocked the day’s fastest time en route to winning her semifinal heat.

Alfred clocked 21.98 seconds to cross the line first in Heat 1, with Nigeria’s Favour Ofili, who clocked a season’s best time of 22.05 to place second, also through to Tuesday’s final.

Meanwhile, Wanya McCoy of the Bahamas and Dominica’s Alexander Ogando were the only two men from the region to advance to the semifinals of the men’s 200 metres.

McCoy was second in Heat 2 in 20.35, while Ogando was also second best in Heat 4 in a time of 20.04, with both gaining automatic qualification.

Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson was fourth in Heat 2 in 20.53 seconds, and his compatriot Bryan Levell, who placed fourth in Heat 6 in 20.47 will try to advance through the repechage round.

The USA’s Noah Lyles, the 100m champion, won Heat 6 in 20.19 seconds to easily advance.