Luton middle distance runner Revée Walcott-Nolan will have a second chance at Olympic 1500m qualification but was left “disappointed” after a series of collisions saw her finish eighth in her heat.
The Team GB athlete, in her second Games, will now have to race in tomorrow’s repechage in the hope of joining fellow Brits Laura Muir and Georgia Bell in the semi-finals, after the pair qualified comfortably in their heats.
For Walcott-Nolan, who missed missed out on the semis in the Tokyo Games by 0.01 seconds, it was far less than plain-sailing in the Paris as she was caught up in a jostling pack of runners and was noticeably put off her stride.
And in the final straight, the 29-year-old was left too far behind the front-six qualifiers to mount a challenge, crossing the line with a time of 4:06:44, 1.48 seconds off the automatic qualification places.
“Yeah, it was quite tough today,” Walcott-Nolan told the BBC, adding: “I got caught up in a couple of trips and I’ve been spiked.
“It happened three times and just completely threw me off my rhythm. But I can run so much faster than that so I’m just really annoyed.
“I felt good. Honestly, at the (final lap) bell I felt that I could claw back into the top six. But, where I came off the pack and then had to go a bit more wide to try and get back to the group.
“Yeah, that just took a lot out of me and I just didn’t have the legs in that final straight. I’m really disappointed with that.”
Having secured her spot in Paris by finishing third at the British Athletics Championships, Walcott-Nolan admitted to the governing body: “I’m gutted that I have to come back again tomorrow but I am glad I have another chance.”
