The Botswana sprinter Isaac Makwala has celebrated his reprieve at the World Athletics Championships in London by qualifying for the men's 200 metres finals.
Isaac Makwala Photo: Supplied
Makwala was prevented from running in the opening 200m heat and the 400m final after falling victim to an outbreak of sickness that has hit scores of competitors.
The 30-year-old, seen as a leading contender in both events, had insisted he was fit enough to race while the sport's world governing body had said he had an infectious disease and needed to be quarantined.
But the IAAF later allowed Makwala to run in the semi-finals - provided he first achieved the qualifying time of 20.53 seconds in an individual time trial before the main session.
Although he was forced to run in much worse conditions than the competitors had in the first round two days ago with the rain teeming down in the London Stadium for much of Wednesday, Makwala sped round the wet track on his own in 20.20 seconds.
Cheered by spectators who were still coming into the stadium for the evening session, Makwala prayed before the start and, after glancing at the clock at the end of the race, went into a series of celebratory press-ups on the track.
It meant he had qualified comfortably for the semi-finals.
Later in his semi-final heat, Makwala ran 20.14 seconds to finish second in his heat and automatically qualify for Saturday's finals.
