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Lucia Stafford, competing at her second Olympics, opened competition for Canada on Tuesday with a season best of four minutes 2.22 seconds in Round 1 of the women’s 1,500 metres.
The Toronto native will need to go through the repechage round Wednesday at 6:45 a.m. ET for a chance to qualify for Thursday’s semifinal at Stade de France.
“I gave it my best and I can’t be disappointed. I really wish it was a PB [personal best of 4:02.03 or faster] at least,” the University of Toronto alumna told Devin Heroux of CBC Sports.
In June, she won a third straight Canadian title at Olympic trials in Montreal by two seconds ahead of Kate Current of London Western Track & Field Club who ran 4:09.81 Tuesday and is also headed to the repechage.
The 25-year-old Stafford said she’ll run that race like any other.
“I’m going to … put myself in [the mix to advance to semis] and fight to win,” said the Toronto native. “You can guarantee I’m going to run a 4:02 now. I’d love a frickin’ 3:58.”
On July 12, Stafford set the women’s Canadian record in the 2,000 at 5:31.18. Angela Chalmers held the previous best of 5:34.49 since Sept. 4, 1994.
Montreal’s Simone Plourde was the other Canadian in Tuesday’s 1,500. She went 4:06.59 and will join Stafford and Current in the repechage.
Other events Tuesday include men’s javelin, women’s long jump, and repechage rounds for the men’s 200 and women’s 400.
Hurdler Thorne competes with broken hand
In the men’s 110 hurdles repechage, Craig Thorne of Quispamsis, N.B., was fifth in his heat in 13.62 seconds and will not be part of Thursday’s semifinal.
Only the top two advance from each heat and from Thorne’s group that is American Freddie Crittenden (13.42) and Spain’s Asier Martinez (13.46).
Thorne, who was hampered by a broken bone in his hand throughout his first Olympic competition, was spotted shaking his head after the finish times were posted on the stadium scoreboard.
“I felt really good today, thought I had it and I kind of let that one slip,” said Thorne, who clocked 13.60 in Round 1 on Sunday. “It’s frustrating but it’s a part of the game, you have to learn from it and move on.”
The 23-year-old told Heroux he broke his hand last Friday when one of his knuckles met a hurdle during training.
“You need to move on and try to forget about it but it’s hard to move that out of your head,” he said. “I think I could have ran a bit faster today.
“I’m proud of myself. My confidence was high [despite] the injury. This stadium, the crowd [and] just being here is so special. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Women’s sprinters out of medal contention
The women’s 400 semifinal will not include Canada’s Lauren Gale and Zoe Sherar, who failed to crack the top six overall in the repechage heats.
Gale looked solid in her race before fading over the final 100 metres down the straightaway, crossing the line in 52.68 seconds, over two seconds shy of her 50.47 PB.
“She looked good in the first 200 and then hit a wall. Her final 200 metres was torturous for her,” CBC Sports analyst Dave Moorcroft said during the broadcast while noting the Ottawa native might be injured.
Gale, who clocked 53.13 in Round 1 on Monday, had a breakout season on the track breakout season on the track and had gone 51.79 on July 12 in a pre-Olympic race in Memphis, Tenn.
Sherar, who hails from Toronto, posted a time of 51.43 on Tuesday. She lowered her PB four times this year, most recently to 50.79 at the Royal City Inferno meet in Guelph, Ont., in early June.
Source Agencies
