Trevor Bassitt of the United States prepares to run the 400-meter hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Saint-Denis, France.
AP Photo | Martin Meissner
Trevor Bassitt survived the repechage round on Tuesday morning by winning his heat of the 400-meter hurdles in 48.64 and advancing to Wednesday’s semifinals.
His time was almost a full second faster than the 49.38 he ran in his Olympic debut on Monday.
Bassitt’s personal best time in the 400-meter hurdles is 47.38.
In a post-race interview on Tuesday, the Bluffton native told Lewis Johnson of NBC it was all about controlling the controllables.
“Yesterday I was caught off guard with the whole process, the stadium and the crowd,” he said on the broadcast. “Nothing surprised me today. We were able to walk in and execute from the start.
“A medal is still the goal. I didn’t do myself any favors yesterday but it’s good. We’re still alive and that’s all that matters.”
Two other Americans have also guaranteed themselves a spot in the semifinals. Rai Benjamin won the first heat on Monday in 48.82 and CJ Allen took second place in the third heat with a time of 48.64.
Bassitt said after his fifth-place showing in heat two on Monday that he rushed the second half of his block start.
“I just wasn’t really able to pickup the whole time,” he said to Johnson after the race. “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.”
Bassitt runs in the first of three semifinal heats on Wednesday at 1:35 p.m. CJ Allen follows in the second heat at 1:43 p.m. and Rai Benjamin runs in the third heat at 1:51 p.m.
There will be a watch party starting at 1 p.m. at the Bluffton High School gym, 106 W. College Ave., Bluffton.
