Vasil Antonov finished fourth in the 400-metre final at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. The Bulgarian athlete stopped the clock at 47.90 seconds, finishing 0.74 seconds short of the bronze medal. He was the only European in the race for the medals.
Said Omar of the United Arab Emirates won gold with a personal best of 46.40 seconds. Gambia’s Mustafa Jadama finished second in 46.93 seconds, while China’s Han Liu took bronze in 47.16 seconds.
Antonov reached the final after a strong semi-final
The 17-year-old Bulgarian secured his place in the final with the second-fastest time in the second semi-final heat. Antonov clocked 49.07 seconds, finishing behind Said Omar, who won the heat in 48.33 seconds. The first four athletes from each heat and the fastest fifth-place finisher advanced to the final.
Immediately after the semi-final, Antonov spoke about the difficult conditions in Dakar. “It was very exhausting even during the warm-up itself; it was really tough,” the athlete told “Paragraf”. The temperature during the semi-final was around 40 degrees.
Antonov, who competes for the Radukanovi club from Vidin, enjoyed a strong season and improved several national junior records in the 400 metres. His best performance of the year before Dakar was 47.19 seconds.