The 100 metres is over in an instant and four Canadians got into the starting blocks looking to advance in one of the Games most-watched events.
Andre De Grasse moved on to the men’s100 metre semi-final after finishing 3rd in his heat with a time of 10.07 seconds.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’ll make some adjustments to tomorrow and make sure my start is there. I was a little lackadaisical at the start and that kind of tossed me. I tried to come back but, obviously, you can’t run a 9.9 person (heat winner Kenny Bednarek and second-place finisher Emmanual Eseme) like that,” said the two-time Olympic 100 metre medallist. “That first 40 metres is going to be crucial if I want to get into the final.”
Duan Asemota made his Olympic debut, racing to a time of 10.17 seconds in round 1 of the 100 metres and will not progress to the semi-final.
“It was a great experience. Just being able to make it this far, because not everyone gets to make it this far,” Asemota said. “Coming from everything that I’ve came from in my life to be here is very unlikely, so I’m just really proud of myself to have made it to this stage.”
Aaron Brown was disqualified from his men’s 100 metre heat, after a false start.
“It’s a little embarrassing. I’m at a loss for words … I’m still in shock. I felt like there was a twitch beside me and that made me react. Something in my head just said ‘Go’.,” said Brown. “I’m just going to run the heck out of that 200 metres and run the heck out of that 4×100 metres.
Audrey Leduc continued her Olympic debut in the women’s 100 metres. After setting a Canadian record in her heat yesterday, she finished 5th in her semi-final today with a time of 11.10 seconds and did not advance to the evening final.
“I’m happy. For sure, I would have wanted to go the final. But that’s fine. I have the 200 metres tomorrow, so my goal is just to go there and execute what I didn’t execute today and just run a good race,” Leduc said
Warner Withdraws
Damian Warner withdrew from the men’s decathlon after registering no score in the pole vault event. Warner made three attempts at 4.60 metres, but was unable to clear the bar.
He had entered the pole vault in 2nd place after a sizzling time of 13.63 to lead the field in the 110 metre hurdles event and a season’s best throw of 48.68 metres in the discus throw.
Philibert-Thiboutot Moves On
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot advanced to the men’s 1500 metre semi-final, finishing 2nd in his repechage heat with a time of 3:33.53 – good for a season’s best time.
“I’ve made the final in every major championship in my career. I just made the semi-final so it’s not quite the dream come true yet, but it’s a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I think everyone comes here with high expectations. After yesterday, I had some doubts and I had to overcome them today,” Philibert-Thiboutot said. “Crossing the line, I was just happy that I executed pretty much perfectly, stuck to my plan, and that’s why I was so proud.”
Team Canada Roundup
Jazz Shukla finished 2nd in her women’s 800 metre repechage heat, clocking in with a time of 2:02.00. She will not progress to the semi-final in the event.
“I did everything I could, so I’m proud of the effort, proud of the execution and obviously disappointed with the result but there’s a lot of season left,” Shukla said.
Kieran Lumb was 5th in his men’s 1500 metre repechage heat. His time of 3:35.76 would not advance him to the semi-final.
“I knew there was a good chance that Stewart McSweyn (of Team Australia) was going to take it out hard. So the plan was tentatively to key up with him and make it a hard last 800 metres. I did that well, but not quite well enough,” he said. “The Olympic debut here in Paris is pretty cool. The atmosphere in the city is unique to anything I’ve experienced before.”
Tomorrow at Paris 2024
Sunday is Hammer Throw Night in Canada, with both our world champions competing in Paris. Camryn Rogers looks to qualify for the women’s final in the morning, while Ethan Katzberg and Rowan Hamilton look to build off their strong performances in qualifying to leave their mark in the men’s final.
Andre De Grasse continues his quest for a 7th Olympic medal as he competes in the semi-final of the men’s 100 metres. Will he race for gold in the evening final?
Hurdlers Savannah Sutherland and Craig Thorne, as well as 400 metre sensation Christopher Morales Williams make their Olympic debuts.
The first round of women’s steeplechase is always a crowd-pleaser, with Ceili McCabe and Regan Yee vying for a spot in the next round.
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