Jean-Simon Desgagnés has qualified for the 3000m steeplechase final at the Paris Olympics. He earned the fifth and final bye in the third round of qualifying.
His closest pursuer, the German Frederik Ruppert, almost stole his place. He finished his race 3 hundredths of a second behind the Quebecer.
“In the final, my goal will be to compete to make the top 10he shared in a post-race interview with Radio-Canada. I will have a different race management in order to have a better finish.”
Desgagnés finished his race in 8:25.28, the worst time among those qualified for the final, which will be held Wednesday. Born in Quebec, he is participating in his first Olympic Games.
Steeplechase is a race in which participants run over various obstacles, such as large fixed barriers or water-filled pits. These barriers are different from hurdles. They are slightly lower, and remain in place when hit.
From Grasse qualified
In other news, Canadian star Andre De Grasse qualified for the semi-finals of the 200m. He finished second in his group, with a time of 20.30 seconds.
PHOTO JEWEL SAMAD, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
André De Grasse finished 2nde rank of his wave behind Noah Lyles.
On Sunday, André De Grasse was unable to qualify for the 100m final. He completed his qualifying race with a time of 9.95 s, two hundredths of a second away from reaching the final, and 5e rank in his group. Noah Lyles eventually won gold after a thrilling race, with a time of 9.79 seconds.
Two other Toronto sprinters, Brendon Rodney and Aaron Brown, didn’t get his chance. After finishing fourth in their heat, they will have to go through the repechage to hope to reach the semifinals.
The outcome was particularly heartbreaking for Rodney, who finished his race one hundredth of a second away from a direct pass to the semi-final.