Edmonton's Marco Arop says confidence 'really high' entering Olympic men's 800m semifinal
Places 2nd in heat in 1:45.74; Dunfee, Lundman set Canadian record in race walk
World champion Marco Arop is a step closer to his goal of running for his first Olympic medal in the men's 800 metres.
The Edmonton athlete was second in his heat Wednesday, stopping the clock in one minute 45.74 seconds behind Belgium's Eliott Crestan (1:45.71).
"It's one of three [races for a chance at Olympic gold]. I gotta come back in a couple of days and take care of the semifinal," Arop said in a post-race interview with Devin Heroux of CBC Sports.
The semifinal is scheduled for Friday at 5:30 a.m. ET at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
The goal for Wednesday, noted Arop, was "not being so aggressive" early in the race and place in the top three.
"Really high," was the 25-year-old's response when asked about his level of confidence at these Games.
"I know I have the experience," Arop said. "I've got a great [support] team around me, and with my trust in them and my trust in God, anything is possible."
WATCH | Arop runs 1:45.74 to qualify for 800m semifinal at Paris 2024:
Last September, Arop's coach Chris Woods told CBC Sports it would be deemed a success for the middle-distance runner if he made the Olympic final in Paris.
"He's a world champion but not yet an Olympic finalist," Woods said, "so that's the goal, and then we can focus on medals and winning."
Arop placed seventh (1:44.90) in his 2021 Olympic semifinal in Tokyo, 16-100ths of a second behind Kenya's Emmanuel Korir, the final qualifier for the final. The Canadian placed 14th overall in a field of 24.
Canadian record falls in race walk team event
Evan Dunfee and Olivia Lundman, both of B.C., set a Canadian record and placed 20th of 23 finishing teams Wednesday in the first marathon race walk mixed relay contested at the Olympics.
They posted a time of three hours 4 minutes 57 seconds in a race held on the same course as the individual races at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The event replaced the individual 50-kilometre race dropped after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
On April 21, they finished in 3:07:10 for a national record, according to Athletics Canada.
Dunfee and Lundman crossed the finish 14:26 behind gold medallists Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez of Spain (2:50:31) in the Olympic race held on the same course as the individual race walking events at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
In late April, the Canadians secured the 21st of 22 qualifying spots at the World Athletics team championships in Antalya, Turkey.
Hurdler Abdul-Rashid advances to 100m semis
Mariam Abdul-Rashid of Oshawa, Ont., qualified 14th for the women's 100-metre hurdles semifinal, stopping the clock in 12.80 seconds in her first Olympic race.
Abdul-Rashid was happy to be running at Stade de France in a lane next to Frenchwoman Cyréna Samba-Mayela, who ran 12.31 in June for the third fastest time in the world this season.
"I wanted to hear that crowd. I love that," she said.
In late April, the 26-year-old set a 12.69 personal best to meet the 12.77 automatic Olympic entry standard.
WATCH | Abdul-Rashid feeds off crowd to advance to 100m hurdles semifinal:
Saskatoon's Michelle Harrison is also making her first Olympic appearance and needed a top-three finish in the fifth and final heat to automatically qualify for Friday's semifinal (6:05 a.m. ET). She finished eighth in 13:40 and well shy of her 12.83 season best.
A three-time Canadian champion, Harrison will compete in Thursday's repechage round at 4:35 a.m. for a chance to clinch a semifinal berth.
Stafford 'disappointed but proud'
Lucia Stafford won't get a shot at redemption in the women's 1,500 semifinals after missing a second chance to qualify in the repechage round.
In the first of two heats, the Toronto native ran 4:04.26 for fifth but needed a top-three finish to move to the semifinals on Thursday at 1:35 p.m. ET. Esther Guerrero of Spain was third in 4:03.15.
"I think I ran an amazing race. I was right where I needed to be," said an emotional Stafford said. "I saw the inside [lane] open up, I went for it. I'm disappointed and sad but I'm proud of myself."
"I just need to be better, I need to be fitter. These women are upping their game and I want [success] really bad."
Stafford, 25, was fresh off a 4:02.22 SB in Round 1 on Tuesday.
In the 2021 Olympic semifinals, she finished 13th overall in a then-4:02.12 personal best (now 4:02.03) and 43-100ths shy of Spain's Marta Perez, who grabbed the last qualifying spot with a 4:01.69 PB.
You come to the Olympics with that dream and that dream is gone, for the moment, for Lucia but the passion hasn't.— CBC Sports analyst Dave Moorcroft on Canadian middle-distance runner Lucia Stafford
I didn't have any fun there. I was a nervous wreck," Stafford recalls of her Olympic debut. "I hadn't grown into myself and I'm so proud of the person I am today.
"I think [Wednesday's effort] was just as impressive as my performance in Tokyo. It's just [my competitors] have gotten better."
CBC Sports analyst Dave Moorcroft, who ran a world-record 13:00.41 over 5,000 metres in 1982, called Stafford one of the most courageous athletes in middle-distance running.
"There's nobody tougher than Lucia," he said. "She's desperate, desperate, to be the best she can be. The most anyone can ever ask is to give it your best and Lucia did that in spades today.
"You come to the Olympics with that dream and that dream is gone, for the moment, for Lucia but the passion hasn't. The flame burns just as brightly as ever."
Kate Current of Cobourg, Ont., was 10th (4:08.91) in the same race as Stafford, while Montreal's Simone Plourde was sixth (4:08.49) in the second heat.
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