Former University of Utah runner Simone Plourde failed to qualify for the 1,500-meter semifinals during the first round of the event on Tuesday at the 2024 Olympics.
Thanks to the new repechage round implemented at this year’s Games, though, Plourde, who hails from Montreal and is representing Canada, will have a second opportunity to advance.
Plourde finished ninth in her heat with a time of 4:06.59.
She was in the back half of the competitors during much of her race, which was the second heat, but improved her placement from 12th at the 800-meter mark, moving up three spots by the end.
Plourde missed her personal best time of 4:05.92, which she ran earlier this year in Los Angeles.
Plourde, who began her college career at BYU before transferring to Utah, was 57th in the world ranking in the event entering the Olympics.
The 1,500-meter women’s repechage round will be run in two heats on Wednesday. Plourde is in the second heat.
The repechage round will begin at 4:45 a.m. MDT.
What is the repechage round at the Paris Olympics?
The repechage round is new to the Olympics this year — essentially, it gives runners in certain events a second chance to qualify for the semifinals.
The repechage round has been introduced this year 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.