Athletics | Audrey Leduc: “I was able to put that behind me”

(Saint-Denis) The day after a short night, Audrey Leduc passed the first round of the 200 meters without incident, Sunday morning, at the Paris Olympic Games.

With a time of 22.88 seconds, her third best ever, the Canadian champion finished third in her heat, the last place giving direct access to the semi-finals on Monday evening. The American McKenzie Long (22.55) and the Ivorian Jessika Gbai (22.61) beat her.

“My start was good in general, I felt my legs a little tired because [de samedi] evening, but the goal was to qualify for the semi-finals and I did it,” confided the 25-year-old Quebecer, catching her breath.

Leduc only slept for half a dozen hours before returning to the Stade de France. Lifting her body didn’t bother her too much, but she admits she needed to talk to herself to wake up during the warm-up. “I’m used to training in the morning at home, so it’s not that hard for me.”

The physical fatigue was accentuated by the fact of doubling the distance compared to the day before. “I hit a little wall at the end,” she admitted. “It was starting to be difficult! But it’s okay. We’re all in the same boat.”

Fifth in her 100m semi-final in 11.10, the Gatineau runner therefore did not have time to think about what she had potentially missed.

“I was able to put that behind me. I think the 100m qualifying stayed in my mind longer with the 10.95 than the semi-final. [samedi]. But it’s also the fact that we had the 200m this morning. The break was still done well.”

Her coach Fabrice Akué drew the same conclusions regarding his protégé’s recovery after an emotional evening.

“This is another goal achieved,” he rejoiced. The Press later in the afternoon.

“What she has done is already immense”

The goal was the same on the straight. It seemed all the more achievable after improving his Canadian record by one hundredth in the first lap on Friday morning. “I dreamed about it all night, like when I did 11.08 [au printemps] !” Leduc smiled.

Akué had no regrets about the semi-finals, where his protégé suffered a slight technical failure at the start.

“From the moment we decided to do both events, it was a challenge to get through each round, even the preliminaries, where nothing was a given,” the coach emphasized. “In the 100 m, it was very, very close to a final. The disappointment was very short. We turned around pretty quickly to realize what she had just accomplished. Finish 12^ethree hundredths of a second away from the final, everything she has done is already immense.”

“Absolutely not” surprised by Friday’s 10.95, Akué was aiming for Leduc to repeat exactly the same thing in the semi-finals. A “small piloting error” in the start-up, however, had consequences for the rest of the race.

“The reality of the 100 meters is that you can’t afford to make any mistakes in execution. She came out just a little too high. She lost her angles quickly. She then had to work to reach speeds that would have been more easily obtained by hitting good angles at the start. It’s unforgiving at this level. But I assure you that the learning comes at a high speed!”

Qualified for the 2025 World Championships

In the 200 m, the Gatineau athlete achieved 19^e time of the day out of 45 starters. Jamaican Shericka Jackson, defending champion and double world champion, and Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, another contender, withdrew due to injuries. American Gabrielle Thomas leads in 22.20.

In 22.78 (15^e), Ottawa’s Jacqueline Madogo was faster than her compatriot, but will still have to go through the repechage at noon Monday because she was in the fastest heat. The semifinals will be presented in the evening (2:45 p.m. EDT) and the final on Tuesday.

Everything is looking good for Leduc going forward. “She’s doing well, she’s healthy and she’s in a very good frame of mind,” assured Akué. “And we just learned that her 10.95 gives her the standard for the World Championships next year in Tokyo. That bodes very well. At her first Games, what she’s doing is just exceptional.”

The head of the national sprint center in Montreal took advantage of the morning to chat for a few hours with his Quebec counterpart Edrick Floréal, who led Saint-Lucian Julien Alfred to the Olympic gold medal. Akué agreed on a possible visit to the University of Texas to perfect his knowledge.

For her part, Audrey Leduc spent part of her afternoon off to reconnect with her parents at the Maison du Canada in Parc de la Villette, located a few kilometers from the Athletes’ Village.