Olympic 1,500-meter gold medalist Gabriela DeBues-Stafford will compete.
Athletics at the Summer Olympics – 1500 Metres: Womens
After comforting his distraught daughter, James Stafford will cheer on his other daughter as she competes for her first Olympic medal.
The Canadian record holder, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, ran a season-best 3:58.28 in the 1,500-meter semifinal heats on Wednesday at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. The final will be held on Thursday night (Friday at 8:50 a.m. ET in Canada).
“I ran it in the second quickest time of [my] life. Getting your time back below four minutes is a significant accomplishment “she divulged information to Athletics Canada.
“While I’ve been aware of this shape’s existence for some time, I must say that today’s practise felt especially effortless. Many people questioned whether or not I would ever be able to go back to where I was physically, yet here I am, in as good shape, if not better.”
Her sister, Lucia Stafford, ran in the opposite semifinal and placed 13th overall in a PB of 4 minutes, 02 seconds, almost missing out on the final qualifying berth, which was won by Spain’s Marta Perez in 4 minutes, 01.69 seconds.
Andre De Grasse, a Canadian sprinter, won his first Olympic gold medal roughly 50 minutes later, setting a new Canadian record of 19.62 seconds in the 200 metres to defeat Kenny Bednarek, who ran a personal best of 19.68 seconds. World champion and fellow American Noah Lyles finished third in a time of 19.74.
Damian Warner, another Canadian, was leading the men’s decathlon halfway through the competition in Japan with 4,722 points, 81 more than Ashley Moloney of Australia. After five competitions, Whitby, Ontario’s Pierce LePage is 193 points behind Warner, in third place.
Athletics at the Summer Olympics – 1500 Metres: Mens
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, a Norwegian, set a new Olympic record in the men’s 1500-meter race in Tokyo.
Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a new world record on Saturday to win the 1500-meter event at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The time of 3:28.32 that Ingebrigtsen ran the race in was a new world record, surpassing the previous mark established just two days earlier. Abel Kipsang of Kenya had just set a new world record in a semi-final race by finishing in 3 minutes, 31 seconds, and 65 fifths.
The chances on Ingebrigtsen winning the race were +220 at DraftKings Sportsbook, second only behind the +125 favourite Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya. On Saturday, Cheruiyot ran a 3:29.01, good enough for silver. Josh Kerr of Great Britain finished third in the race, clocking a time of 3:29:05.
Ingebrigtsen is making his Olympic debut in these games. It was the 800-, 1500-, and 3-kilometer events that the 20-year-old had previously dominated in Norway.
He had a shaky 2019 leading up to 2021. Both the European Indoor Championships (held in Scotland) and the World Championships (held in Qatar) saw him place in the top four of the 1500-meter event.
Cole Hocker, a native of the United States, was the only participant from his country. He clocked in at a personal best 3 minutes, 31.40 seconds.