Icelandic record not enough to qualify for 800 m semis

Aníta Hinriksdóttir after her qualification heat in Rio today.

Aníta Hinriksdóttir after her qualification heat in Rio today. Photo: AFP

Icelandic 800 m runner Aníta Hinriksdóttir ran the race of her life in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games today, breaking her own Icelandic record – but an unlucky heat draw means that the Icelander has not qualified for the semi-finals.

Hinriksdóttir crossed the line at 2:00.14 minutes, knocking over three-tenths of a second off her own Icelandic record from 2013, and came sixth in her heat.

The top two finishers in each of the eight heats qualify automatically for the semi-finals, as well as the eight fastest runners-up.

Aníta is now twenty years old.

Aníta is now twenty years old. Photo: Iceland Monitor/Kristinn

The Icelandic middle-distance runner was unlucky with the semi-final she was drawn in, as her 2:00.14 time would have secured her outright victory and automatic qualification in two of the other heats.

As it was, her heat was so strong that her record-breaking performance put her in sixth, with no automatic qualification, and several runners-up above her. Four of the 24 competitors qualifying to the semi-finals ran slower times than the Icelander.

With Hinrikdóttir’s exit, Iceland’s Rio 2016 participation is over.

Weather

Clear sky

Today

0 °C

Clear sky

Tomorrow

3 °C

Clear sky

Saturday

1 °C