Allie Wilson doesn't automatically advance in 800M at Olympics but will get second chance
SAINT-DENIS, France – Under the old rules, Allie Wilson would have been on to the 800-meter semifinals at the Paris Olympics.
Under the new ones, Wilson is out . . . but with a chance to get back in.
The Broad Ripple resident finished sixth in her heat Friday night in a time of 1:59.69. That was 19th overall.
Previously, 24 women would have moved directly to the semifinals, combining top placers and those with the next-best times. World Athletics has instead introduced a repechage, or second-chance, round for those not in the top three of their respective heats.
Wilson races again at 11:20 a.m. Saturday (5:20 a.m. in Indianapolis) for a spot in the semifinals.
She said she preferred the previous system because then she would have pushed the pace, run a fast time and been rewarded.
When she saw she could not be in the top three, she said, she coasted through the closing 50 meters.
“I just tried to save that little ounce for tomorrow,” she said, “and hopefully give myself a chance to get back in there.”
She chided herself for not running into better position early, explaining the other women “are too good to make a mistake like that and be able to make up for it.”
Jamaica’s Natoye Goule-Toppin won the sixth heat in 1:58.66. Goule-Toppin, 33, was an NCAA champion for LSU as long ago as 2013 and a Pan American Games gold medalist in 2019.
Wilson was coming off a July 20 race in London in which she was seventh but in a personal best of 1:57.52. She finished ahead of Laura Muir, a 31-year-old Scot who won a silver medal in the 1,500 meters at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“Every race is different,” Wilson said. “Every day is different. I didn’t feel as good as I did that day, unfortunately.”
Wilson, 28, a former high school soccer player who ran for smallish Monmouth University (N.J.), was coached by Andrew Begley and Amy Yoder Begley at the Atlanta Track Club. When Amy, an Indiana Olympian at 10,000 meters, relocated to Indianapolis to become USA Track & Field’s associate director of long distance programs, Wilson followed.
She lost her sponsorship and worked as a nanny to support herself. After she won February’s U.S. indoor title, she signed a contract with Nike.
Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Allie Wilson finishes sixth in 800M, will get second chance to advance
