Matt Hughes runs race of his life to make steeplechase final; Alex Genest also in
There was plenty of drama for Canadians in the men’s 3000m steeplechase qualifying heats at the world championships on Monday as Matt Hughes set a PB to qualify for the final,
There was plenty of drama for Canadians in the men’s 3000m steeplechase qualifying heats at the world championships on Monday as Matt Hughes set a big PB to qualify for the final, Alex Genest was briefly DQed but won an appeal and will also make the final and Chris Winter ran a strong race but failed to advance.
Hughes (@HugheSteeple) looked terrific in the first heat, moving his way up to the front with a series of aggressive surges. The Oshawa, Ont. athlete eased off at the end for second place and still managed a huge 4-second PB of 8:16, just four seconds off the Canadian record.
“Thanks for all the support!” he tweeted after the race. “On to the finals… Definitely seemed to be more in the tank, hopefully it comes out in the final.”
The second section featured another great Canadian steepler, Alex Genest (@PapaGsteeple) of Shawinigan, Que., who also took it out hard and appeared to have qualified for the final based on time, but the results showed a DQ for Genest and two other runners in that heat. The Canadian delegation protested the alleged line violation and won the appeal, so Canada will have two men in Thursday’s final at 12:20 p.m. ET.
Vancouver, B.C.’s Chris Winter (@cwinter3) also looked great in the third heat, running close to his PB. “Fantastic experience repping Canada in my 1st World T&F champs!” Winter tweeted. “Came in ranked 39th & finished 23rd! Ill take that…For now.”
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