Zeney Geldenhuys and Rogail Joseph narrowly miss out on Olympic final

The 24-year-old Geldenhuys came third in her semifinal in a time 53.90s, behind USAs Jasmine Jones and winner Rushell Clayton from Jamaica, who crossed the finish line in 53.00s.

Rogail, who hails from Worcester in the Western Cape, also came third in her race in a time of 54.12s, behind French woman Louise Maraval and USAs Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Both South Africans then had an anxious wait to check if they qualified for the final as one of the fastest non-qualifying times but they did not make the overall top eight over three semifinals.

In other results for South African athletes, Miranda Coetzee broke her personal best time to finish second in the women's 400m repechage race to qualify for Wednesday's semifinals.

Earlier, Zakithi Nene and Lythe Pillay both struggled in the their respective semifinals in the men's 400m.

Nene finished sixth in his race in a time of 45.06 while Pillay was placed eighth in his semifinal in 45.24.

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