The South African record holder over the distance, Jobodwana made it look easy in his heat by crossing the line in first place with a time of 20.22 seconds.

Simbini his hit turn clinched fifth his heat by shaving 0.04 seconds of his personal best to clock 20.23 seconds.

This saw the South African qualifying as one of the fastest losers in his fast heat with Britains’ Zharnel Hughes won in 20.13 seconds.
Hughes’ time was also the third fastest qualifying time going into the semi-finals.

Turkey’s Ramil Guli-yev chalked up the fast time by crossing the line in 20.01 seconds while Alonso Edward of Panama clocked 20.11 seconds.

After his race, Jobodwana said previous World Champs and Olympic experience helps with his nerves and strategy.

The semi-finals will get underway at 14:30 this afternoon, while at 15:25 Bloemfontein’s Wayde van Niekerk will contest the 400m final.

Meanwhile, Caster Semenya ran her seasons best of 1:59.59 seconds to qualify for the women’s 800m semi-finals, while Khotso Mokoena has advanced to the men’s triple jump final with a leap of 16.78 metres.

Morgan Piek / OFM Sport