Chalmers hurdles and dives into Olympic semi-finals
Alastair Chalmers has progressed to tomorrow night’s Olympic 400m hurdles semi-finals without having to rely on the new repechage system.
That is not to say his heat yesterday morning at Paris’ Stade de France was without drama, though, with the 24-year-old having faced a brief but tense wait to have his position confirmed after diving across the line in a desperate charge for the third and final qualifying spot.
He ultimately clocked 48.98sec. and got the edge officially from Germany’s Joshua Abuaku, who settled for fourth 0.02sec. behind and will have to run in today’s repechage rounds.
‘I came down the home straight and I could see it was all pretty close,’ the five-time British champion said.
‘And look, we’re here, I ain’t going to leave anything out there.
‘Who cares if it’s the heat? These heats in the “four” hurdles are like previous Olympic semi-finals, so I mean, who cares?
‘I really don’t care. I’m through to the semi-final.’
The repechage system, which is making its Olympic debut in athletics, replaces the time-based non-automatic qualifiers used in previous championships.
It gives athletes who finished outside the qualifying positions entry into a later round of repechage heats, with the highest-placing competitors filling the remaining semi places.
But a top-three finish in the initial 400m hurdles heats would earn an athlete a rest day instead and leave them fresher for the semis – and Chalmers looked determined to take that route.
The Guernsey ace went in the fifth and final heat, running from the outside lane and realistically needing at least sub-49sec. to qualify.
He started strongly and seemed unperturbed by his neighbouring athlete, Qatar’s Ismail Doudai Abakar, falling over a barrier on the back straight and tumbling into his lane behind him.
While Jamaica’s Malik James-King looked untouchable and won in 48.21, positions behind him were well-fought on the home straight as Brazil’s Matheus Lima surged through to pip Chalmers with 48.90, and the Sarnian attacked the dying metres to edge that crucial third spot.
The Olympic atmosphere was not lost on Chalmers.
‘I was born for moments like this,’ he said.
‘I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, there’s 80,000 people in here, so many GB flags, so many Guernsey flags, so to be representing the whole team, it’s an honour, an absolute honour and privilege to be here.’
He now hopes to capitalise on the even grander atmosphere of the evening sessions when he takes on tomorrow’s semi-finals, which run from 6.35pm BST.
