Good start for Canadian middle-distance Olympians

Hilary Stellingwerff, Nicole Sifuentes advance in women's 1500m; Geoff Harris moves on in men's 800m.

Mihira Lakshman August 6, 2012

Halifax’s Geoff Harris is enjoying his first Olympics so much, he’s doing everything in his power to keep it going, including holding off a former Olympic champion.

Harris finished second in his 800m heat on Monday in 1:45.97, a new personal best, automatically advancing to the Tuesday’s semifinals.

Running in second place through an honest first 400m of 52 seconds, Harris appeared to be boxed in with 200m to go, as American Nick Symmonds passed him on the outside. Harris, who says he’s learned to be patient with his tactics this season, didn’t panic, and made a final push to the front over the finishing straight.

“That was a nice comfortable race,” Harris said. “There’s definitely more there. I’ve got another gear for sure. Speed wise I can run with best.”

He needed to dig especially deep to hold off a fast-closing Russian Yuriy Borzakovskiy, the 2004 Olympic champion with one of the strongest kicks in the field.

Harris, 25, has now set five personal bests this season, a success he attributes partially to the influence of his friend and new roommate Nate Brannen.

Brannen’s bad luck in Sunday’s 1500m semifinal was added motivation, Harris added, but he made sure he didn’t get distracted by it.

In the women’s 1500m, Hilary Stellingwerff of Sarnia, Ont., endured a tactical race and finished sixth in 4:05.79, securing an automatic berth in Wednesday’s semifinal. Stellingwerff, who trains with the Speed River distance team in Guelph, Ont., was boxed-in at times but moved wide with 200m remaining to ensure she had room to move up for a strong finish.

“I was ranked eighth going into the heat, so I knew I’d have to battle,” Stellingwerff told CTV.

Nicole Sifuentes of Winnipeg also advanced to the 1500m semifinals, although her performance was a bit more nerve-wracking. She was seventh in her heat in 4:07.65 and advanced based on time.

Sifuentes spent most of the race at the back of the back through a few slow laps before finally making her way into a qualifying position in the last 200m. “It wasn’t terribly slow, just relaxed,” Sifuentes said of the opening 800m in 2:18.

“Everyone has a good kick off that pace.”

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