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More on KentOnline
Adam Gemili fought back tears after missing out on a World Championship medal in Doha on Tuesday night.
The Dartford sprinter led the 200m final down the home straight but dropped to fourth despite running a season’s best of 20.03sec.
“I am gutted,” said Gemili. “I had it. I lost my balance. I had nothing left at the end.
“All my form went out of the window. I ran like an amateur. I cannot believe it, I came so close, this was such a good chance. My body feels good, I ran well through the heats. I let it go.”
It was the latest heartbreak for 25-year-old Gemili, who also finished fourth at the Rio Olympics three years ago.
He added: “To not break 20 seconds is so disappointing and heartbreaking.
“I had the medal and it slipped out of my hands. Fourth is the same as eighth, the same as 16th. Unless you’re on the podium, who cares?”
American Noah Lyles took the gold medal with a winning time of 19.83.
Three days earlier, Gemili missed out on a place in the 100m final amid photo finish controversy.
He was classified third in his semi-final, losing out to Canadian Aaron Brown by 0.01sec. But he questioned the result after revealing he’d been denied access to the photo finish.
Posting a picture on Twitter, Gemili wrote: “On a side note, I wasn’t allowed to see the photo finish so can only go off this replay. I could be wrong and usually wouldn’t post anything like this but it was the difference between making the final or not.”
Olympic legend Michael Johnson, working as a BBC pundit, said track officials “probably got it right”.
