PARIS – BYU alumna Courtney Wayment finished fourth in her 3000-meter steeplechase heat on Sunday - her birthday - to qualify for the finals.
Wayment started in fourth and stayed there consistently throughout the race. In the final 200 meters, the top six, including Wayment, began their final sprints, fighting for the five spots that qualified for the final. Despite moving up and down in the final few seconds, Wayment finished in fourth to qualify for the finals with a finishing time of 9 minutes, 10 seconds.
Not only was Wayment making her Olympic debut Sunday, she was doing so on her 26th birthday.
During the race, he broadcasters had great things to say about BYU’s track team and coach Diljeet Taylor.
“Don’t be mistaken, they work hard on the track,” three-time Olympian and NBC track and field analyst Shannon Rowbury said. “I’ve trained at BYU and the pacers say ‘when we’re working with Diljeet, we know we need to hit those splits. There’s no messing around.’”
The 3000-meter steeplechase finals will take place on Tuesday at 1:14 pm MDT and can be watched on Peacock or NBC.
