SAINT-DENIS, France — Faith Kipyegon of Kenya opened her bid Tuesday for a third straight Olympic 1,500-meter title, turning the page on a drama-filled night that ultimately ended with a medal for her.
Kipyegon finished fourth in her first-round heat to advance to the semifinal round. The night before in the 5,000 meters, Kipyegon captured a silver medal, only to lose it on a disqualification for trading elbows with Gudaf Tsegay and then later have it restored on appeal.
“It was very hard, very hard for me. But you just accept the outcome,” said Kipyegon, the 1,500-meter world-record holder. “It was good race, a lot of pushing up and down, but I believed in myself and it is finished. Now I can concentrate on the 1,500.”
Tsegay was back on the track, too, and won her heat. Also advancing was Nikki Hiltz, the 29-year-old who won the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
American hurdler Freddie Crittenden advanced by taking advantage of the newly instituted repechage round. After feeling a tweak during training, he made the decision to jog slowly over the hurdles in the first round to give himself more time to heal. He won his repechage heat Tuesday in 13.42 seconds.
“It was just a gut feeling,” Crittenden said. “A lot of times in training you are pushing yourself, going through the pain even if it wrecks the body. But I’ve had to learn if you’re going to be elite you’ve got to listen to your body and respect what it’s telling you.”
This marks the first Olympics where track has used the repechage rule to give a second chance to hurdlers and to sprinters and middle-distance runners who don’t move on from their opening heats in the 200 through 1,500 meters.
The reign of back-to-back Olympic 400-meter champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas — who has been dealing with injury — came to an end as she finished last in her repechage heat. American Kendall Ellis made it through.
It was the start of a busy day at the track, with Gabby Thomas going for gold in the 200 meters in the evening. One of the marquee matchups is the showdown between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr in the 1,500. Ingebrigtsen is the defending Olympic champion and Kerr the reigning world champ. They’ve been verbally sparring in the lead-up to the race.
American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall had a stress-free qualifying round, earning a spot into the final with a leap of 6.90 meters (22 feet, 7 3/4 inches). There was stress for defending Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo, who needed her third and final attempt to claim a spot in the final with a jump of 6.86 (22-6 1/4). The German standout took off well behind the board to make sure she didn’t foul.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
