Trevor Bassitt of the United States poses during a medal ceremony at the World Athletics Championships in 2022, in Eugene, Ore. Bassitt finished fifth in his heat of the 400-meter hurdles on Monday morning.
AP Photo | Ashley Landis
Trevor Bassitt made his Olympic debut on Monday morning and finished fifth in the second heat in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.38.
The Bluffton native did not qualify for the semifinals, but he’ll have another shot to do so in the repechage round on Tuesday at 6 a.m.
Bassitt, who entered the race with a personal best time of 47.38, competed against world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway (47.57), who advanced out of the heat with Clement Ducos of France (47.69) and Abderrahman Samba of Qatar (48.35).
In a post-race interview, Bassitt told Lewis Johnson of NBC that he thought he rushed the first half of his block start.
“I just wasn’t really able to pickup the whole time,” he said on the broadcast. “I was in a really fast heat with the top two guys running 47s. That’s pretty rare, but at the end of the day, you can’t show up to the Olympic games and run a 49 in the first round and expect good things to happen.
“We build off adversity. We love adversity. If I’ve got to have an extra race on my legs to get a medal then so be it. I just have to come back tomorrow, execute better, get to the semis and go from there.”
Two Americans have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the semifinals.
Rai Benjamin won the first heat with a time of 48.82 and CJ Allen took second place in the third heat with a time of 48.64.
