Rio Tuesday morning preview: Four Olympic events to watch
Day five of athletics at the Olympics will see plenty of Canadians in action including Andre De Grasse in the men's 200m (photo: Dave Holland).
Despite some incredible moments having taken place during the first four days of the Olympics, there’s still plenty of action to look forward to. Tuesday morning at the Rio Games sees the heats of the women’s 5,000m, men’s 1,500m, women’s 100m hurdles and men’s 200m. All four of those events will have at least two Canadian representatives.
8:30 a.m. EDT – Women’s 5,000m – Heats
The 12.5-lap event will kick off the action on Tuesday morning in Rio. Andrea Seccafien, the national champion in the 5,000m, is going to be joined by Jessica O’Connell in the event. There are only two heats in the first of two rounds of the women’s 5,000m and each will have 17 runners. O’Connell is in heat one and Seccafien is in heat two. The first five runners in both will qualify automatically to the next round as will five athletes based on time.
9:30 a.m. EDT – Men’s 1,500m – Heats
National 1,500m champion Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, who has run 3:34 this year in Monaco, and Nathan Brannen, the Pan Am Games silver medallist will contest the men’s 1,500m. There will be three heats in the first of three rounds.
Philibert-Thiboutot will run in heat one, alongside Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, the favourite. Brannen will be in heat two. Both are good candidates to move on to the next round as the first six in each heat go on automatically to the semifinals. Six others will advance based on time.
10:05 a.m. EDT – 100m hurdles- Heats
Canada has a full team in the women’s 100m hurdles with three veterans slated to run the heats. Phylicia George, 28, is a world championship finalist in the event. Nikkita Holder is the Pan Am Games bronze medallist in the hurdles and Angela Whyte, 36, will compete in her third Olympic Games.
Whyte, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, is one of the country’s most decorated sprinters dating back to 1999. This is expected to be Whyte’s final Games so expect her to go out with a bang. All three Canadians should advance to the semis and possibly to the finals.
10:50 a.m. EDT – Men’s 200m – Heats
All three Canadians in the men’s 200m have run 20 seconds or faster for the men’s 200m and are considered good candidates to reach the semifinals, if not the finals. Andre De Grasse, the fastest of the three, is the Canadian record holder at 19.88. De Grasse is coming off a historic performance in the men’s 100m final where he won Canada’s first medal in 20 years in the event.
Brendon Rodney, a product of Long Island University in New York, went sub-20 for the first time at the national championships in Edmonton in July. The 19.96 performance helped lead him to the Canadian championship title.
Aaron Brown, a sub-10 performer in the 100m, has run 20-flat in the 200m and is the second fastest in his heat. Usain Bolt will be in heat nine of 10 on Tuesday morning. Each heat has eight athletes. The top-two athletes in each heat and four others based solely on time will advance to round two of three.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
