Despite two brave efforts, both Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy just missed out on automatic qualification from the heats of the women’s 1,500 metres in the Stade de France on Tuesday morning.
O’Sullivan was making her Olympic debut in the first of the three heats, and despite a brilliant run which saw her improve her personal best by almost two seconds, running 4:00.23, her seventh-place finish saw her miss out by one place.
It was the same result for Healy, who had got herself into that sixth-place position coming into the homestretch, only to be passed just before the line by New Zealand’s Maia Ramsden, the Irish runner then falling to the track so complete was her effort.
Only the top six from each of the three heats progressed to Thursday’s semi-finals, the rest going into the repechage round which takes place on Wednesday morning at 11.45 Irish time.
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The 22-year-old O’Sullivan was drawn against the likes of Britain’s Laura Muir and Gudaf Tsegay from Ethiopia, the 5,000m world record holder who’d raced that final the night before.
Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka took up from the pace from the gun, the field of 15 runners soon strung out like beads on a string, and while O’Sullivan chased hard for that sixth spot all the way down the homestretch, her effort fell just short.
“It’s great to run your best, you always want to run your best and that’s all you can really ask for,” she said. “It’s obviously hard, but it was more comfortable. And I felt with a lap to go I definitely had something left in my legs to close it out.
“I honestly felt really good. I was surprised as I didn’t think we were going very fast at all. And the crowds were crazy, you can’t really understand how big it is until you walk in and you’re like, ‘Oh’. It’s so cool to see you almost forget to be nervous. It was great.”
Tsegay took the win in 3:58.84, Muir second in 3:58.91, the top six running sub-four, with Emily Mackay from the USA claiming the last spot ahead of O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan’s 4:00.23 improved her personal best of 4:02.15, set at last year’s World Championships.
With 200m to go she had to briefly run wide when trying to get around Tanaka, causing her to break stride momentarily.
“The Japanese girl was slowing down,” said O’Sullivan, “I was trying to go around her, she was moving here and there, I kind of ran into the back of her. I tried to go round her and she didn’t want to let me past. She was blocking I guess, it was just enough to throw me off and lose a bit of momentum. It wasn’t much but it was probably the second I needed. It’s probably my fault to be honest.”
The 23-year-old Healy also made her Olympic debut in the second heat, drawn against defending champion Faith Kipyegon, who finished second in the 5,000m final just 12 hours before.
That heat was won by Diribe Welteji from Ethiopia in 3:59.73, Ramsden grabbing that sixth place just ahead of the Irish woman – the Dublin runner also falling over the line at the World Indoors in March.
“It wasn’t great, to be honest I’m really disappointed,” Healy said, less satisfied with how her race unfolded. “I didn’t feel very good and then I tied up at the end which has now happened to me twice so I’m like, what’s going on?
“It’s really hard. I came into this in such great shape and I should have been able to do that comfortably, the pace, and everything just felt really hard. I was hanging on to sixth, I was trying my best and had I known there was someone right there... I probably could have hung on for that sixth spot, but all the same I was not happy with how I felt regardless and obviously now I have to just try to get through tomorrow. It’s confusing, to be honest.”
On Monday night, Ciara Mageean said she was “absolutely heartbroken” after it was announced that she had been forced to withdraw from heat three because of an Achilles tendon injury.
