THE Philippines’ Eric Cray suffered a huge blow in his Olympic bid after finishing only eighth in the men’s 400-meter hurdles of the Drake Relays Saturday at the Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Running in Lane 1, the 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medalist clocked in 51.20 seconds in the event won by Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos.

The 2019 Pan American Games champion, Dos Santos won in 48.15, a personal best and the fastest time in the world this year, with American Kenny Selmon second on 48.87.

Amere Lattin, also from United States, completed the podium finishers with 49.69.

Holder of three national records, Cray’s time was much better than the 51.61 seconds the Fil-Am hurdler recorded for a bronze medal in last week’s Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas.

Up next for the 32-year old Cray is the Texas Meet on Friday.

The Philippines hopes to send another athletics representative in the coronavirus-stalled Tokyo Games other than pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who qualified way back in September 2019.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Cindy Sember won a world-class women’s 100-meter hurdles showdown, while four-time defending champion and world record-holder Keni Harrison fell at the second hurdle.

Sember, who has battled back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, surged late to win in 12.57 seconds with American Christina Clemons second in 12.59 and Britain’s Tiffany Porter, Sember’s sister, third in 12.80.

“The journey has been a long road, but I’m very blessed to get back to where I knew I could be,” Sember said. “My focus wasn’t the best today but I kept focused to the end of the race and that really helped me.”

Sember, who finished fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was two lanes over from US standout Harrison, who struck the first hurdle with her trail leg and ran into the second hurdle before tumbling to the track.

She did not finish but rose and walked off apparently uninjured.

American Dawn Harper-Nelson, the 2008 Olympic champion and 2012 runner-up attempting a 100 hurdles comeback at 36 after having a baby, was seventh on 13.28 in her 2021 debut. (With reports from AFP)