Power denied further progress in Olympic 800m
TEMPLEOGUE’S Nadia Power missed out on a place in the semi finals of the Olympic Games 800m after finishing seventh in her heat in Tokyo this morning.
The DCH runner made a measured start to her race and found herself towards the back of the field on the inside as they hit final lap.
Going through into the closing circuit in 59.90, the pace was injected into the field and Power managed to live with it until the closing 150m when she drifted back and eventually crossed the line in 2:03.74.
The race was won by Jamaica’s Nataya Goule in 1:59.83 with Noelie Yarigo (2:00.11) and Hedda Hynne (2:00.76) in second and third respectively.
A disappointed Power, speaking to RTE after the heat said “I just don’t really know why I was so off there.
“Everything went well preparation-wise. I picked up a cold last week which wasn’t ideal, but I’m not using that as an excuse. I did feel like I was over it.
“I just felt quite flat. The legs didn’t go when I wanted them to go.”
Speaking about her race strategy, she said “It was just to get into the pack, be relaxed and not use too much energy in my positioning early on and just work my way through the group.
“I definitely executed that, but I just didn’t have anything to work my way through the group in the last 100 and it’s hard to know why I just ran 2:03.
“It’s going to be pretty tough to take when I think about it, but I don’t want to make it all negative because I’m so happy to be here.
“But I was so sure I was ready to run my best today and I felt in the perfect mind-set. I’m just so confused as to why my body wasn’t able to produce that today.”
It was a tough day all-round for Ireland women’s 800m runners with Power’s compatriot’s Siofra Cleirigh Buttner and Louise Shanahan also carding seventh-place finishes in their respective heats.
DSD star Buttner worked hard to keep herself in the mix, but a couple of tussles as she tried to work her way through the group proved costly as she lost momentum and fell further back, crossing the line in 2:04.62.
