Tokyo, Japan – The 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson has for the first time explained that she misread the big screen monitor inside the Olympic Stadium which caused her demise in Monday’s first round of the 200m. 

Running in lane four of heat five, Jackson appeared to cruise throughout the event, eventually finishing fourth place in 23.26 seconds, the same time recorded by Italy’s Dalia Kaddari in third. The race was won by The Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan in a season’s best 22.76 seconds, with Lorene Bazolo of Portugal claiming second place in 23.21 seconds. 

“It’s part of the sport, it’s part of life, you come in the championship ready to run and then you lose a little bit of focus,” she told journalists after leading the women’s 4x100m relay team safely to the medal race.  

“I actually wanted to run the 200 and the 100 and to know that I got a medal in the 100 (its) unfortunate I didn’t make it to the semi-final, but it’s a learning process for me.” 

Asked to be more detailed, she replied: “Honestly I was watching the screen in front and I just realised when the 4×1 was running (second semis) that it is late (delayed) so I guess I misjudged how far they were as I wanted to qualify as easy as possible knowing that the semi-final was in the evening, but as I said it is a lesson I had to learn, I learn a hard lesson, heartbroken, but I’m back and ready to run the 4×1, so I just have to refocus.” 

After races many athletes tend to scan the big screen monitors to ascertain where they finish in a race or to examine their execution, while some peruse them to inform themselves of where they are during races. But the system has a natural delay that can offset if not taken into consideration. 

“I’ve definitely learnt from this, it was a hard lesson and I have to go back and refocus and come back again. The season isn’t finished as yet, so after the relay it is to go back, to focus and see how fast I can run at the end of the season,” Jackson said. 

“Right now I’m not frustrated, when it just happened I had to take two days and gather myself but I’m okay,” she reassured. 

Ian Burnett