Despite running a season’s best of 20.40s in the ongoing world athletics championships in Oregon, Ghana’s Joseph Paul Amoah missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the 200m.

The national 200m record holder was looking to put behind the disappointment from the 100m heats behind him and secure a semi-final berth in the 200m race but a fifth-place finish in heat 1 meant he missed out.

Joe Paul attributed his performance to a lack of endurance caused by injuries.

“This is the fastest I’ve run in 200m all season. I feel like I’m getting back to my last year shape at the right time,” he told Joy Sports after the race.

“I think the 200m is not as short as the hundred and you need endurance and stuff like that to be able to cross the line. Looking at the injuries that I’ve faced during the season, there are some training workouts that I wasn’t able to do or finish so it’s like the endurance part is not really there but you still want to push to see how best we can come out with results.”

Joe Paul’s best this season in 200m was 20.52s, coming into the competition. The improvement was great but not remarkable.

Ghana’s quest in sprints has been cut short with failed attempts in 100m and 200m. Next for Joseph Paul Amoah and Ghana’s sprint team is the 4x 100m relay which starts on Friday.