Former University of Utah runner Simone Plourde came up three spots shy of advancing to the 1,500-meter semifinals at the Olympics during the repechage round Wednesday.
Plourde, who is representing Canada at the Games, needed a top-three finish in her heat to move on, but her time of 4:08.69 was sixth in the second heat, ending her experience in Paris.
Her time in Wednesday’s repechage round — essentially a second chance to qualify for the semifinals — was nearly two seconds slower than her time of 4:06.59 in Tuesday’s first round.
Plourde, who transferred to Utah after starting her collegiate career at BYU, was in eighth place after 400 meters in Wednesday’s race and moved as high as fifth at the midway point.
She couldn’t catch the leaders, though, and finished about a second and a half behind what would have been a semifinal qualifying time.
What is the repechage round at the Paris Olympics?
The repechage round is new to the Olympics this year.
It has been introduced for individual track events from the 200-meter race up to the 1,500-meter race, as well as the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles events.
“I think it’s great,” Plourde told Running Magazine last month, about the repechage round. “This is an opportunity for athletes to get a second chance to show up. It’s fun for the public and the athletes.”
Races that don’t include a repechage round include the 100-meter dash and long-distance events and steeplechase, “as the need for proper recovery between rounds makes the format impractical,” the Olympics website states.
Depending on the race, anywhere from two to six athletes in the repechage round will advance to the semifinal, according to The Athletic.
In the case of the 1,500-meter race, the top three in two different heats moved on to the semifinals.
Plourde ended up in the slower of the two heats — fellow Canadian Lucia Stafford finished fifth in the first heat with a time of 4:04.26, four seconds faster than Plourde.