UPDATE: Andrade reinstated into Tuesday's Olympic 400 hurdles semis...
RIO DE JANEIRO—Earlier in the day, we reported that Bonney Lake HS graduate Jordin Andrade (left/photo by Paul Merca), who is representing Cape Verde, was disqualified from heat 6 of the first round of the Olympic men’s 400 hurdles Monday morning at Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, after apparently finishing fourth in his heat and advancing as a time qualifier.
Shortly before 4:30 pm Seattle time, Andrade texted paulmerca.blogspot.com stating that the decision to disqualify him from Tuesday’s semi-final round was overturned, putting him back in the semis.
Andrade, who ran 49.35 in a heat won by Kenya’s Haron Koech in 48.77, was initially disqualified because in the opinion of the officials on the track, he deliberately knocked down the final hurdle.
While he was in the protest room a few hours before the decision, he said that he had made a slight change in his hurdle stride pattern for Monday morning’s race. He normally runs 14 strides between the first 5 hurdles, then switches to 15 for the final five.
He felt that because he was feeling so good with his final preparation for his race, he decided before the race to try and run 14 strides through the first seven hurdles and then switch to 15 for the final three hurdles, which almost cost him a spot in the next round.
He tweeted out a screenshot of the video showed to him with the caption “No joke…this is why I’m dq’d”
Andrade will run in heat 2 of 3 semi-final races Tuesday at 5:42 pm Seattle time (9:42 pm in Rio) out of lane 1. He becomes the first athlete in any sport in Cape Verde's history to advance to a semifinal round at the Olympics.
Recapping Monday’s action, American Allyson Felix’s bid to win an Olympic title at 400 meters fell short, as she finished second to Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, 49.44 to 49.51. Felix’s silver makes her the most decorated female track athlete in US history with seven career Olympic medals, breaking a tie with Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
NCAA 1500m champ Clayton Murphy of Akron came off the pace to finish third in the men’s 800, running a personal best 1:42.93 and giving the USA its first 800m medal in 24 years, as Kenya’s David Rudisha successfully defended his Olympic crown in 1:42.15.
Brazil’s Thiago Braz Da Silva pulled off a mild upset, winning the men’s pole vault with a leap of 19-9.25 (6.03m) over defending Olympic champ Renaud Lavillenie of France (19-7.5/5.98m). The USA’s Sam Kendricks was third (19-2.25/5.85m).
In the women’s steeple finals Monday morning, Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet won in a time of 8:59.75, as Colorado alum Emma Coburn broke her own American record in finishing third in 9:07.63.
Reigning US & NCAA national 110 hurdles champion Devon Allen of the University of Oregon, who lived in the Seattle area before finishing high school in Arizona, was second in his first round heat, running 13.41, with Greece’s Konstadinos Douvalidis nosing him out in an identical time.
Allen moves on to Tuesday’s semis at 4:40 pm, Seattle time, with the finals the last event just over two hours later.
Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk broke the world record in the hammer throw, winning the Olympic title with a toss of 269-11 (82.29m).
Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk broke the world record in the hammer throw, winning the Olympic title with a toss of 269-11 (82.29m).
Tuesday will be one of the busiest days for athletes with Washington ties. In addition to Allen and Andrade, University of Washington grad Diamara Planell Cruz goes in the women’s pole vault qualifying at 5:45 am, Seattle time. Also competing Tuesday morning will be Washington State assistant coach Angela Whyte of Canada in the women’s 100 hurdles at 7:05 am.
Later on Tuesday (5:50 pm, Seattle time), Vancouver native Kara Winger will throw in group B of the women’s javelin competition.
NOTE: The IAAF and USA Track & Field contributed to this report.
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