Newcastle-based wheelchair athlete Luke Bailey has ranked 14th fastest overall following the heats of the men's T54 100 metres at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday.
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Games debutant Bailey, aged 23 and living in Wickham, clocked a time of 14.55 seconds to finish fifth in the first of three heats.
He started strongly and remained inside the top three until the closing stages.
Thailand's Athiwat Paeng-Nuea (14.00s) won the heat with Cambodia's Vun Van (14.39s) second, China's Yang Liu (14.47s) third and Indonesia's Jaenal Aripin (14.53s) fourth.
This left Bailey short of qualifying for tonight's final, with the top two from each heat gaining an automatic spot as well as the next two fastest times from across the board.
Fellow Australian representative Sam Carter progressed to the decider, having finished third in the second heat. His time of 14.19s was the cut off mark.
Four-time defending champion and world record holder, Finland's Leo Pekka Tahti (13.81s), was the quickest in the preliminary round.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
