Chicago native Wallace Spearmon qualified for the men's 200m finals at the 2012 London Olympics on Wednesday in stunning fashion, nearly beating out Jamaican Yohan Blake for the top spot. As Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde notes, Spearmon was just one-hundredth of a second from winning the heat:
men's 200 semis now: Yohan Blake shut it down so completely that he nearly was beaten by USA's Wallace Spearmon. Blake 20.01, Spearmon 20.02
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) August 8, 2012
Although he didn't post the best score in the first heat of the semifinal (and the margin was defeat was the smallest one possible), Spearmon's second place finish still qualifies him for the finals, which occurs on Thursday at 2:55 p.m. CST. He'll surely have his hands full if he wants to get a medal, as Blake and legendary teammate Usain Bolt should provide some major competition.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For comprehensive coverage of the 2012 London Games, visit SB Nation's Olympics news hub. Stay up to date on the medal count with Sports Illustrated's tracker.