Track: Hodgkinson sputters out

Toni Hodgkinson was knocked out of the 800 metres when she finished sixth in her semifinal on Saturday night.

Hodgkinson, who made the final in Atlanta in 1996, tracked semifinal winner Stephanie Graf around the curve, but ran out of gas in the straight.

She told reporters she could not understand why that had happened, as she had been strong over the last 100m in races this season.

Graf won the heat in 1min 57.56secs, with Britain's Kelly Holmes and Helena Fuchsova of the Czech Republic finishing second and third respectively. They were the three fastest qualifiers for the final later this week.

Hodgkinson, who finished in 1:59.84 after running on the outside just off the pace, said her tactics had been right. She had intended to track Graf, hoping to pull into the final as one of the two fastest losers.

When her semifinal ran through the 400m mark more than two seconds faster than the first heat, it appeared Hodgkinson was in with a good chance of making the final.

As in her heat on Friday, she was checked by Fuchsova , but said it had not affected her.

- NZPA