Thomas Qualifies for Semis
04 Aug 2012
Tasmanian track star Tristan Thomas has qualified for the semi finals of the 400m hurdles at his first Olympic Games in London.
The Sandy Bay Harrier Club member ran a seasons best 49.13seconds in heat 4 last night. His effort ranks him equal fifth fastest for tomorrow's semi finals, after he placed 4th in the fastest heat.
“I’m really happy," Thomas said immediately after the race.
Australian onlookers may have been concerned watching his race, as Thomas looked stretched in finishing fourth. However with the world leader on his outside and a loaded heat, Thomas was always a good chance to progress and there are signs he can go faster again in the semi finals.
“More than anything I just wanted to do a good time and execute the race properly. And honestly I didn’t care what happened as long as I did that and to run a season best 49.1 with a couple of errors and next fastest into the semis I’m really happy,” he added.
With three semi finals to be run, Thomas will carry lane 3 in semi final two. In order to make the final, he needs to place in the top two in his race, or be one of the next two fastest non automatic qualifiers. Having drawn world leader Javier Culson once again, along with American Olympic Champion Angelo Taylor, chances are that Thomas will be aiming to once again race hard to the line and aim for a top four place, with a sub 49second run to qualify for the final.
The race is on at 4:08am Tasmanian time, tomorrow (Sunday) and the full field for the semi final is;
|
Lane |
Bib |
Athlete |
Country |
SB 2012 |
PB |
|
2 |
1155 |
BIZ |
49.54 |
49.54 |
|
|
3 |
1065 |
AUS |
49.13 |
48.68 |
|
|
4 |
1811 |
GBR |
48.60 |
48.60 |
|
|
5 |
2743 |
PUR |
47.78 |
47.72 |
|
|
6 |
2947 |
SRB |
49.21 |
49.21 |
|
|
7 |
3255 |
USA |
48.43 |
47.25 |
|
|
8 |
3140 |
UKR |
49.53 |
49.09 |
|
|
9 |
1465 |
CUB |
48.63 |
47.99 |