ROME, Italy — Chijindu Ujah said that he was hoping to fight his way to the top following his winning return at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, a year after serving his ban for a doping violation that resulted in his team being stripped of their Tokyo Olympics silver medals.
Britain’s Ujah took victory in his heat at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico with a time of 10.23 seconds, which meant he qualified fourth-fastest for the men’s 100m semi-finals.
Amandine Brossier of France led all qualifiers in the pre-qualification rounds of the women’s 400m. Brossier advanced as the fastest qualifier with a season-best time of 51.30 seconds. Awaiting her in the semi-finals are 12 of the best 400m sprinters in Europe, including Rhasidat Adeleke (part of Ireland’s winning 4x400m mixed relay team) and Tokyo 2020 4x400m mixed relay gold medallist Natalia Kaczmarek.
With temperatures reaching 32 degrees Celsius inside the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Luca Sito, who was part of the Italian 4x400m mixed relay team that won silver, secured the top time in the men’s heats with a mark of 45.12 seconds.
The 30-year-old was previously banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for 22 months in October 2022, which was backdated from August 2021 to June 2023.
However, the AIU had cleared Ujah of intentionally taking prohibited substances. He was recalled to Britain’s 4x100m squad for the World Athletics Relays in May, but did not participate.
“We all make mistakes in life and obviously I made it at this level, which I didn’t want to do. I know I can walk with my head held high, knowing I didn’t try to cheat,” Ujah said according to Reuters.
“I have learned a lot about myself, the resilience and the mental health; it has taken a lot to get back to this point… Hopefully I can fight my way back to the top.”
Britain was stripped of the Tokyo silver after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Ujah’s anti-doping rule violation.
Briton Louie Hinchliffe, meanwhile, became the first European to win the men’s 100 metres at the NCAA championships, clocking the ninth-fastest time in the world this year.
The 21-year-old won the US collegiate title for the University of Houston in 9.95 seconds in Eugene, the fastest by a European athlete this season and ninth-quickest in the world.
“I got out hard and it was kind of level. My form probably wasn’t the best, but I gave everything to get to that line,” Hinchliffe told reporters.
Hinchliffe, whose coach at Houston is nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis, will aim for a spot on TeamGB for the upcoming Paris Olympics at the UK Championships later this month.
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