Team Ireland track star Leon Reid has progressed to the semi-finals of the Men’s 200M event after his successful run in the heat on Tuesday morning.
Reid came fifth in heat seven but squeezed through to the next stage of the event with a season-best time of 20.53.
The 27-year-old beat his previous season-best by 0.26 with a strong run to ensure that his Olympics does not end after one race.
His 20.79 run to take home gold at the National Championships in June was beaten soundly at the Olympic Stadium.
The Menapians Athletics Club member beat out Ukraine’s Serhiy Smelyk by the fine margins after the pair finished their heats with the exact same recorded time.
A strong run from start to finish with an exceptional final burst sealed the result for Reid in what was the fastest heat out of all seven scheduled.
Fellow Team Ireland athlete Marcus Lawler was also in action on Tuesday morning, competing in the same event as Reid.
Lawler ran in the heat before Reid and finished the 200 metres in a time of 20.73 but it was not enough to progress after he crossed the line outside of the automatic qualification spots in sixth.
However, the 26-year-old ran a new season-best, beating the previous time of 20.99 that he set when he took bronze in the Men’s 200M at the National Championships, two places behind Reid.
The Clonliffe Harries athlete will return home after just one race but will have a new best time this season to bring home with him.
The athlete’s focus will now turn to Paris 2024.
The Men’s 200M semi-finals will take place on Monday afternoon with the first of three starting at 12:50.
Leon Reid will compete in the third semi-final which is scheduled to begin at 13:05.
To see the list of remaining Irish athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, click here.
