Mexican Tonatiu López Runner Advances to 800m Semifinals
Mexican middle-distance runner Jesús Tonatiu López Álvarez qualifies for the semifinals of the men's 800-meter event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. With a confident performance, he leads his heat and secures a spot in the next round.
With an outstanding race on the track at the Stade de France, middle-distance runner Jesús Tonatiu López Álvarez qualified this Thursday for the semifinals of the men's 800-meter event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, his second experience in the summer competition.
The Sonoran led the second of the four heats that made up the repechage round with a time of 1:45.13 minutes, which meant he beat his eight opponents and thus sealed his passage to the next round.
“It was first or nothing, I was going out to do my race, it was not my idea to go to the front, but in the end, the pace was enough for me to lead the entire race. I am very happy. Thank God. Yesterday's race helped me to loosen my legs a bit, it was not ideal to run twice before the semifinal, but it's over, I have to turn the page, rest, and wait for tomorrow,” he commented.
With the passage to the next phase, Tonatiu López, Pan American runner-up in Santiago 2023, acknowledged that it will not be an easy competition, but he trusts in his work and in the rematch regarding the same instance that he experienced in his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020.
“We must be very cautious when taking positions; we have to wait. In the end, in this type of competition, making your career more complicated due to the type of opponent, you have to be intelligent to be able to do things well and prepare to be at full capacity tomorrow,” he said.
“I entered the stadium relaxed and saying. Let it be what God wants, and we are already in our second Olympic semifinal. We have to see how we are going to pace ourselves and it depends on the other opponents how it develops, but I see myself developing my own career,” he explained.
The middle-distance runner will compete in his second Olympic semi-final as part of the 27 runners seeking a place in the final of the Parisian competition, which will be attended by the top two places in each series and the next two fastest; the event will be this Friday, August 9 at 3:30 a.m. Central Mexico time.
