Michigan Olympic Updates: Women's Track and Field
8/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field, Olympics
• Rio Olympics Site | U-M Olympics Coverage
Wednesday, Aug. 17
100-meter Hurdles Semifinals and Final
It is rare for two siblings to both reach the Olympic stage, but even rarer that they compete in the same event. Making the same final? A near impossibility. This week in Rio, Cindy Ofili and her older sister Tiffany (Ofili) Porter did what was seemingly impossible, reaching the final round of the 100-meter hurdles.
During the semifinals Wednesday evening, Porter ran in the first semi and started out of lane four. She timed a race of 12.82 to place fourth and was the last athlete to qualify for the final. In the third and final semi, Ofili ran in lane six and ran 12.71 to place second in her semifinal, seeding her sixth for the final.
During the final just two hours later, Porter lined up in lane three with Ofili in lane eight. Both got out of the blocks cleanly, and from the gun Ofili was among the race leaders. Over the middle stretch of the race, she retained her positioning among the top four athletes, leaning forward at the line, but it was American Kristi Castlin who leaned ahead to steal the bronze medal by centimeters. Castlin crossed at 12.61, while Ofili ran a season-best 12.63 in her first-ever Olympic experience. At just 22 years old, Ofili finished a mere .02 seconds shy of an Olympic medal.
Porter, who is representing Team Great Britain for the second time on the world's biggest stage, made her first career Olympic final and ran 12.76 for seventh place. Ofili's race was just .03 seconds off her personal-best time of 12.60, which stands as a Michigan record.
• 100-meter Hurdles (Semifinal 1): 4 - Tiffany (Ofili) Porter (12.82)
• 100-meter Hurdles (Semifinal 3): 2 - Cindy Ofili (12.71)
• 100-meter Hurdles (Final): 4 - Cindy Ofili (12.63), 7 - Tiffany (Ofili) Porter (12.76)
Cindy Ofili
Tuesday, Aug. 16
100-meter Hurdles Heats
Running in heat three, Cindy Ofili lined up in lane two and timed 12.75 to win her heat. Ofili was quick off the blocks and did not look back, storming her way first across the line in her first Olympic-level competition. In the fourth heat, Tiffany (Ofili) Porter timed 12.86 to finish second and also advanced automatically. Now qualified for the semifinal round, both athletes will run again Wednesday evening (Aug. 17) at 7:45 p.m. EDT.
• 100-meter Hurdles (Heat 3): 1 - Cindy Ofili (12.75)
• 100-meter Hurdles (Heat 4): 2 - Tiffany (Ofili) Porter (12.86)
Nicole Sifuentes
Sunday, Aug. 14
1,500-meter Run Semifinals
Nicole Sifuentes ran in the second semifinal heat Sunday night, starting in lane 10 alongside world record-holder Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia. American Jenny Simpson took the race out quickly from the gun, knowing 4:05.60 was the non-automatic qualifying time to beat from the first heat of the night, and Sifuentes followed on her heels, using with the same aggressive approach that advanced her to the semifinals earlier in the weekend. As the lead pack grew more and more crowded, Sifuentes remained in the top four but was passed by Didaba, Great Britain's Laura Muir and Violah Cheptoo Lagat of Kenya over the final 250 meters. She finished seventh in 4:08.53, two places shy of a place in Tuesday's final.
• 1,500-meter Run (Semifinal 2): 7 - Nicole Sifuentes (4:08.53)
Uhunoma Osazuwa
Saturday, Aug. 13
Heptathlon
After a day-one total of 3,609 points, Uhunoma Osazuwa wrapped up the heptathlon competition on Saturday by adding more than 1,300 points to her score, placing her 29th among all competitors. Osazuwa, who set a PR in the shot put on Friday, began today with the long jump, where she measured her best mark on her second attempt at 5.72 meters (18-9.25 ft.). She then threw 33.42 meters (109-7.75 ft.) with her first toss of the javelin but was DQd in the 800-meter run. Osazuwa finished with 4,916 points in her second experience representing her country on the world's biggest stage.
• Heptathlon: 29 - Uhunoma Osazuwa (4,916 points)
Nicole Sifuentes
Friday, Aug. 12
Heptathlon/1,500-meter Run
Beginning her two-day competition, Uhunoma Osazuwa competed in four events of the heptathlon on Friday. She ran in heat three of the 100-meter hurdles, timing 13.75 seconds for 1,014 points. She picked up 941 points in the high jump, clearing 1.77 meters (5-9.75 ft.) -- the same height she jumped in London four years ago -- and in the shot put, Osazuwa threw a personal-best 13.15 meters (43-1.75 ft.) for an additional 737 points. During the final event of the day, the 200-meter dash, she timed a race of 24.67 seconds to finish Friday action with 3,609 points.
Osazuwa will continue competition tomorrow with the final three events of the heptathlon: the long jump, javelin throw and 800-meter dash.
• Heptathlon: 24 - Uhunoma Osazuwa (3,609 through four events)
Nicole Sifuentes ran in the opening heats of the 1,500-meter run, racing out of lane one. Sifuentes took the race out early, pacing the field through nearly the first three laps of the race. Sifuentes took the pack through about 3:04 at the bell lap, maintaining her front positioning, until she was passed on the back straightaway heading into the final turn. However, Sifuentes maintained her composure, knowing what she needed to run in order to advance to Sunday's semifinal and finished with a time of 4:07.43, qualifying on time in seventh place.
• 1,500-meter Run (Heat 3): 7 - Nicole Sifuentes (4:07.43)
Players Mentioned
