Tokyo Olympics: Dina Asher-Smith out of the 100m at semi-final stage though Daryll Neita progresses

Dina Asher-Smith crashed out of the 100m semi-finals in a huge upset in Tokyo on Saturday evening.

The leading lady of British athletics has appeared to be struggling for fitness since tweaking her hamstring earlier this month and managed only a third-placed finish in 11.05sec.

That left her relying on being one of two fastest losers to scrape into the final but in a twist of fate the final spot was taken by her British team-mate Darryl Neita.

It is a huge setback for the 25-year-old who arrived in Japan with hopes of becoming Britain’s first Olympic sprint medallist since 1960.

Now there are serious questions over whether she be competitive in the 200m, at which she is world champion. 

While she dismissed concerns over her ‘grumpy hamstring’ ahead of the Games, it is understood she was still receiving treatment through the week, as indicated by the fast she has been well off her pace and that of the field.

She clocked only 11.07sec on a quick track in her heat and could manage only a tiny improvement when it mattered on Saturday.

Asher-Smith made a positive start though lost out to Swiss sprinter Ajla del Ponte who scraped second behind Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah who took the victory in 10.76.

The second semi-final saw Marie-Josee Ta Lou and Shericka Jackson advancing as the top two, with Michelle-Lee Ahye finishing third with a time of 11.00 to push Asher Smith down the pecking order for the fastest loser spots. 

In the final semi-final,  Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce took the victory ahead of Mujinga Kambundji with Teahna Daniels finishing third to knock Asher-Smith out of the fastest loser spots.

Neita finished fourth and took the second fastest losers spot by one thousandth of a second.