Veronica Campbell-Brown runs in wrong lane during 200m heat
Last Updated: 26/08/15 3:44pm
Jamaican star Veronica Campbell-Brown stayed in the 200m competition at the World Championships in Beijing despite running in the wrong lane for much of her opening heat.
The 33-year-old is one of the favourites to win gold in China and appeared to be in good form in her heat as she strolled to victory in 22.79 seconds.
But she finished the race in the same sixth lane as Britain's Margaret Adeoye, who shrugged her shoulders in apparent disbelief after crossing the line in third place to qualify.
Campbell-Brown passed Adeoye inside the first 70 metres but struggled to negotiate the bend and ended up running directly in front of the British athlete, ultimately drifting out closer to the runner in lane seven. She had started in the fifth lane.
However, the International Association of Athletics Federations's rule 163 (4b) states "an athlete shall not be disqualified if he steps or runs outside his lane in the straight with no material advantage thereby being gained, and no other athlete being jostled or obstructed to impede his progress".
Away from the earlier controversy, Britain's Dina Asher-Smith put up a sensational performance to set the fastest time of the heats, running a personal best 22.22s in winning the final heat.
Asher-Smith's time was 0.23s quicker than any other runner and confirmed her status as a medal contender.
The third British competitor, Bianca Williams, also made it into the semi-finals when she finished second behind Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, who ran 22.78s but was easing down from 50m out.
