On Saturday, Neita narrowly missed the 100m podium by just four-hundredths of a second, as Julien Alfred from St Lucia clinched the gold medal. The 27-year-old bounced back with a commanding performance at the Stade de France, finishing with a time of 22.39 seconds.
Asher-Smith, who had faced disappointment for not advancing to the 100m final, clocked 22.28 seconds to secure second place in her heat behind Nigeria’s Favour Ofili. Her teammate Williams also advanced with a time of 22.77 seconds.
In a heartfelt interview with BBC Sport, Asher-Smith shared her feelings: “I’m honestly still frustrated from yesterday. Despite trying to stay calm during the race, my anger was evident.”
She continued, “I’m deeply upset about the results.” Meanwhile, Jamaican sprinter Jackson withdrew from the 100m to focus on the 200m, where she is the reigning two-time world champion but did not compete on Sunday morning.
Jackson’s withdrawal has made American Gabrielle Thomas, the fastest 200m runner of the year, the leading contender for gold. Thomas, who earned silver behind Jackson last year, started her Paris campaign with the fastest time in round one at 22.20 seconds.
Less than 14 hours after her historic gold, Alfred, St Lucia’s first Olympic medallist, continued her success by winning the opening 200m heat with a time of 22.41 seconds.
Jackson’s absence, along with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s earlier withdrawal from the 100m, has left the 200m event wide open. Reigning champion Elaine Thompson-Herah from Jamaica was also unable to defend her titles due to an Achilles injury.
After narrowly missing out on the 100m podium, Neita set a confident tone for her 200m bid with a decisive victory, reflecting, “It feels like I just arrived at the track. The quick turnaround has been intense.” She added, “Although finishing fourth was bittersweet, I’m proud of my performance and feel motivated moving forward.”
In the 400m hurdles, Lina Nielsen advanced to the semi-finals with a time of 54.65 seconds, while Jessie Knight will need to compete in a repechage after finishing fifth with 55.39 seconds. The race was won by Femke Bol, who also led the Netherlands to a gold medal in the mixed 4x400m relay.
American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the defending champion and world record holder, won her heat with 53.60 seconds, setting up a potential gold-medal clash with Bol.
Great Britain’s Elizabeth Bird qualified for the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final with a fourth-place finish in her heat at 9:16.46, while Aimee Pratt did not advance.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes secured a spot in the men’s long jump final with a best leap of 7.96m in qualifying, trailing behind defending champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, who led with a jump of 8.32m.