London, England — Jamaica’s promising quarter-milers Nathon Allen and Demish Gaye finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the final of the Men’s 400m, while Ristananna Tracey secured her spot in the 400m hurdles final yesterday.

Meanwhile, all three women’s 200m runners — Simone Facey, Shashalee Forbes and Jodean Williams — advanced to the semi-finals.

Jamaica were looking to add to their medal count that remained at one gold and one bronze, as the vastly improved pair of Allen and Gaye were hoping to snatch a medal in what was a really top class field .

But that was not to be as big favourite, Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa in clearly conservative mode, eased home in 43.98 seconds, a time that would have placed him fourth in last year’s Olympics final which he won in world record time.

The South African world record holder was so comfortable that he basically jogged over the line ahead of Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas, in 44.41 seconds. The fast-finishing Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar finished like a train and snatched bronze in 44.48 seconds.

Allen, who was drawn in lane four, right behind van Niekerk, seemed to have been pulled out of his comfort zone and could not find another gear when it mattered most. He was fifth in 44.88 seconds after running his personal best of 44.19 in the semis.

Allen, for the third time at the Championship, was whisked away by the medical team from the mixed zone following another gruelling race.

The 24-year-old Gaye, clocked 45.04 seconds for sixth in what was a most remarkable achievement, seeing that he only took athletics seriously just over three years ago.

“It was a great feeling being in the final; I felt great running against those guys,” said Gaye, who attends G C Foster College.

Coached by Maurice Wilson at Sprintec, Gaye achieved his personal best of 44.55 seconds in the semi-final, and he was not satisfied with his run in the final.

“I am not really pleased with the time, but I am glad for an injury-free race. I ran the best I could and just have to give God thanks,” he noted.

“I am very determined and hard-working so next time I will come back bigger and better,” said Gaye.

Meanwhile, Tracey, 25, has been promising for some years in the 400m hurdles, and she looks set to deliver as she raced into the final with the second-fastest time after winning her semi-final in 54.79 seconds.

She was the only Jamaican that made it through as national champion, Rhonda Whyte was disqualified and Leah Nugent failed to qualify.

Tracey, who has a personal best of 54.15 seconds, took control of her race and was never in danger, easing home with seemingly more in tank.

“The race was great and I followed the instructions of my coach. He said I must go out there, control the first 200m and maintain and that should give me the win – and I did that, so I am looking forward to the final,” said Tracey.

“It’s kind of cold. I think I’m stronger than the other girls out there, but they are faster than I am. My coach said I needed to come out here and control the first 100m of the race, then I will finish stronger no matter what,” she reiterated.

“At 300m your legs are dead and it’s a mind thing, so the crowd can be extremely helpful tomorrow in the final,” Tracey noted.

Tracey will enter the final with only Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic quicker, who won in 54.59 seconds, semi-final one that included Leah Nugent, who was sixth in 56.19 seconds. American Kori Carter was second in 54.92 seconds.

National champion Rhonda Whyte was never in the hunt in her semis and was fifth before being disqualified for lane infringement.

Earlier, all three female 200m runners — Simone Facey, her cousin Shashalee Forbes, and Jodean Williams — advanced to the semi-finals of the 200m.

Veteran Facey looked good after a fast start and was only caught by the impressive Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who went by 70m out and won in 22.69 seconds. Facey was second in 22.98 seconds and was the quickest Jamaican into the semi-final.

“Overall I think it was a good race, execution wise. On the curve was really good for me and I just feel great overall. Finishing, I feel very strong and I am just looking forward to the semi-final,” said Facey.

National champion Forbes had a bad start and was third in her heat in 23.26 seconds, a race that was won by an impressive-looking Daejah Stevens of the US in 22.90 seconds. Veteran Ivet Lalova-Collio of Bulgari was second in 23.08 seconds.

“I fell from the blocks so I had to get back my balance and run back, which was very hard. So I just have to position myself for the next round,” said Forbes.

Debutante Williams was first up in the heats and she was fifth in 23.38 seconds, advancing as one of the fastest losers. Defending champion Dafne Schippers won in 22.63 seconds.

“I am feeling happy because I came out here and I represented my country at a major competition. But it was a good experience for me,” said Williams, who complained about the cold weather.

The semi-finals will be run on Thursday and Forbes has been drawn in lane two of semi-final one running against Schippers, Deajah Stevens and Ivet Lalova-Collio.

Facey is in semi-final two running from lane six and will again compete against Miller-Uibo, while Williams has drawn lane two in semi-final three and faces Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast.