‘Holy s**t’: Riley Day’s reaction to dazzling run in Olympic semi-final

Australian sprinter Riley Day was ecstatic following a scintillating run in Tokyo, and didn’t hold back in the post-race interview.

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 02: Riley Day of Team Australia looks on after she competes in the Women's 200 metres semi finals on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 02, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Australian sprinter Riley Day has narrowly missed out on qualifying for the women’s 200m Olympic final despite a scintillating performance on Monday evening.

The 21-year-old finished fourth in her semi-final at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, registering a personal best time of 22.56.

“That is an outstanding performance,” Channel 7 commentator Bruce McAvaney said.

“It is hard to overstate how good that was.”

Jamaican sprinter and gold medal contender Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce comfortably won the semi-final with a blistering time of 22.13.

Earlier on Monday, Day recorded a time of 22.94 during her heats in humid conditions to qualify for the semi-finals.

“Holy s**t,” an ecstatic Day told Channel 7 after the race.

“That was a much better race than this morning. I’ve got my groove. Now I hope it’s the fastest heat so I can get in the final. Because that is a massive PB. That’s awesome.

“I want to be the best, and I’m going to stop at nothing to be the best.”

Needless to say, Riley Day was chuffed with her performance in the women’s 200m semi-finals.

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Unfortunately, Day’s time was not quick enough to qualify for the final, with the Queenslander ultimately going 12th-fastest overall - she would have made the final if she was 0.17s faster.

Later in the evening session in Tokyo, Australia’s Steven Solomon put together an impressive performance in the men’s 400m semi-finals.

Solomon got off to a slow start in the second semi-final, but closed the gap to his rivals as they approached the final straight.

The Aussie ultimately finished third with a time of 45.15, meaning he would also have to endure a nervous wait to see if he qualified for the final.

Unfortunately, it wasn‘t enough for Solomon to book a spot in the top eight.

“I really gave it everything I had today,” Solomon said.

“I came into the race feeling really confident but was just a little short in the legs tonight.”

Elsewhere, Australian pole vaulters Nina Kennedy and Elizaveta Parnova successfully achieved heights of 4.40m and 4.25m respectively in their qualification events.

Originally published as ‘Holy s**t’: Riley Day’s reaction to dazzling run in Olympic semi-final