Moncton's Genevieve Lalonde finishes 16th in Olympic steeplechase final
Lalonde set a new Canadian steeplechase record in qualifying heat on Saturday and finished in 16th today
Moncton's Genevieve Lalonde finished in 16th position in the 3,000-metre steeplechase event in the Olympic games in Rio.
Lalonde's unofficial final time was 9:41.88, which put her in 16th spot.
Ruth Jebet of Bahrain won the gold medal with a time of 8:59.75, Kenya's Hyvin Jepkemoi won the silver and Emma Coburn of the United States finished with the bronze.
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Lalonde qualified for the final on Saturday when she broke her own national record with a time of 9:30:24 and came in fourth place.
She competed against 17 other runners in the steeplechase final.
Lalonde was cheered on by a crowd of about 50 fans in Moncton on Saturday.
Wowza what a ride!!! So happy with what I was able to acheive this year. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Olympics?src=hash">#Olympics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/athletics?src=hash">#athletics</a> Thank you to everyone who has helped ❤️🇨🇦
—@lalongenPierre Landry, one of the spectators who also trained with Lalonde, was bullish about her chances in the finals.
"You never know, the podium is still in the range," said Landry
Joel Bourgeois, a former coach of Lalonde's, said she ran a "perfectly executed race" on Saturday.
"She ran the prefect race that she absolutely needed to run," Bourgeois said on Information Morning Moncton on Monday.
Bourgeois said Lalonde is the first New Brunswicker to make an Olympic finals in a track and field event. He said he hopes Lalonde's success will continue to boost the sport in the province.
"The fact that I was an Olympian in that race 20 years ago opened some doors, the system did not permit a New Brunswick to go to the Olympics 20 years ago," he said
"Today the doors aren't closed anymore."