TOKYO, Japan ‑ Running in his first-ever Olympic race, and lining up just two lanes down from the world leader and event favorite, Trayvon Bromell of the United States, Bahamian Samson Colebrooke didn’t get the start he wanted and labored to the finish line in the men’s 100 meters (m) at the Japan National Stadium on Saturday evening.

Colebrooke stopped the clock in 10.33 seconds, crossing the finish line in seventh place to bring his first Olympic Games experience to an end. He was the first male competitor in action on the track for The Bahamas at the Tokyo Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

“It was good… stumbled out of the blocks again, but not worried about it. It was good to get my feet wet. I know what to work on for next time and what to build toward. I’m excited…. not upset at all. You live and you learn,” said Colebrooke.

Colebrooke had qualified for the Olympics from 2019, running a personal best time of 10.01 seconds at the North American, Central Americana and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-18 (U18) and Under-23 (U23) Championships in Querétaro, Mexico. However, this season, he could only muster a season’s best time of 10.18 seconds.

He knows he will have to get much faster if he wants to keep up with the top male sprinters in the world.

Colebrooke, listed as the second-fastest Bahamian ever with that 10.01 clocking in 2019, is now looking forward to the 2022 World Athletics (WA) World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

The Tokyo Olympics was his first global competition on the senior side, and he said that now that he has his feet wet at the Olympic level, he’s certainly looking forward to returning to that stage in three years time.

“Here, it’s no different from running against competitors in high school and college. It’s just that training is intensified,” he said. “Just being here is good. I just have to go and recover, get some good training in and go from there. I’m looking forward to 2022.”

Canadian Andre de Grasse was the fastest qualifier for the semifinals, running a season’s best time of 9.91 seconds. Lamont Marcell Jacobs, of Italy, had the second-fastest qualifying time, running a national record of 9.94 seconds in the opening round heats. American Fred Kerley qualified third in 9.97 seconds. Bromell, who has run 9.77 seconds this year for the world lead, was timed in just 10.05 seconds and was a non-automatic qualifier for the semis.

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