Geneviève Lalonde finishes 7th at Commonwealth Games, despite injury

Geneviève Lalonde finished seventh in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday morning, but leading up to the event she wasn't even sure she would make it to the starting line. 

The Moncton native pulled her hamstring a week before she was set to race at the games in Australia. 

"My team worked really hard and we got me out there, so getting to the start line was a victory in its own," said Lalonde, who was the only Canadian in the group of nine running the steeplechase.

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Lalonde has been in Australia since mid-February, preparing for the games and her season. But the injury made training difficult. 

That's probably the best I've ever run in April.- Geneviève Lalonde

"I couldn't really train on hard surfaces for a few days and was doing different types of bike workouts just to get ready for the track race, so it's not ideal," Lalonde told Information Morning Moncton host Jonna Brewer.

"But ultimately I got out on the starting line, so I have to be happy with that."

Lalonde finishes race despite injury

7 years ago

Duration 0:42

Genevieve Lalonde finished seventh in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games , but a week ago she wasn’t even sure she would make it to the starting line.

When she was out on the track, Lalonde had a top five finish in her sight, but with 300 metres to go she hit a barrier. 

"That's steeplechase for you," she said.

No pressure

Lalonde, who competed at the Olympic Games in 2016, said she had no nerves going into the event. 

"Being in the Gold Coast in Australia, it's not a very nerve-racking place," said Lalonde. 

"Being surrounded by fellow Canadians competing and such, it's just been a really great atmosphere."

It was also an earlier start on the season for Lalonde. She started her training a couple of months earlier to get ready for the Commonwealth Games. 

"That's probably the best I've ever run in April."

Soon, Lalonde will have to start thinking about Tokyo and the 2020 Olympics.

"I'm hoping to run really fast so that once we get to the Olympics I've gotten my ultimate preparation ready for that," she said.

"Ultimately, that's going to be the big show and that's where we're going to want to put it all on the line and see what we can do."