Three Wildcats Advance to Olympic Finals on Wednesday

PARIS, France – Six UKTF athletes advanced to their next respective round on Wednesday at the Olympic Games, including a trio of Cats who booked their spot into a first career Olympic final. Alumni Daniel Roberts and Alexis Holmes moved into the finals of the 110m hurdles and 400m, respectively, while incoming Wildcat Tapiwanashe Makarawu qualified for the final of the 200m. Kentucky’s trio of short hurdlers, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Masai Russell, and Devynne Chalton (Volunteer Assistant Coach/Purdue Alum) moved into the semifinals of the 100m hurdles.

In true Hurdle U fashion, three Wildcats began the day by advancing to the semifinals of the 100m hurdles. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, was the top qualifier out of the event’s first round, winning her heat with a time of 12.42 seconds. The Olympic record holder, who represents Puerto Rico, led her section from start to finish, cruising to an automatic qualification position.

Masai Russell finished third in the preliminaries with a time of 12.53 seconds, winning her heat in a photo finish. Holder of the world’s fastest time in the 100m hurdles this season, the American surged down the stretch to take the section win, and an automatic qualification to Friday’s semifinal, with a lean at the line.

Devynne Charlton (Volunteer Assistant Coach/Purdue Alum) was the third and final Wildcat to compete and advance to the semifinals, posting the ninth fastest time of the morning at 12.71 seconds. The Bahamian, who holds the world record in the 60m hurdles, finished second in her heat to automatically advance. The 100m hurdles semifinals will be contested on Friday, August 9 at 6:05 a.m. ET.

In the evening session, Daniel Roberts opened the action by advancing to his first career Olympic final in the 110m hurdles. His time of 13.10 was the third fastest among all semifinalists, setting him up for a chance at gold in Thursday’s final. The 2019 Kentucky graduate finished second in his heat, earning him an automatic qualification to the medal race. Roberts will take to the line for the final time in Paris on Thursday, August 8 at 3:45 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, as the 2023 World bronze medalist will go for his first piece of Olympic hardware.

A second Wildcat joined Roberts in the ranks of Olympic finalist, as Tapiwanashe Makarawu, an incoming transfer from New Mexico Junior College, qualified to Thursday’s final on time, placing seventh overall with a time of 20.16. Third in his semifinal heat, the Zimbabwean national record holder advanced as the first of two non-automatic qualifiers. Makarawu is the 2024 African Championships silver medalist and will race for Olympic gold on Thursday, August 8 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Alexis Holmes ended the night as the third Wildcat to punch her ticket to a first career Olympic final, taking a “big Q” out of her 400m semifinal heat to earn the right to run for an Olympic medal on Friday. Seventh overall across the three heats, Holmes moved from fifth to second in her section during the final 100 meters, using the impressive kick to automatically advance. The American will contest the final on Friday, August 9 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

In addition to Roberts and Makarawu, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will also return to the track on Thursday, contesting the final of the 400m hurdles at 3:25 p.m. ET. The defending gold medalist will look to repeat her winning performance from Tokyo. All three athletes’ races can be seen on NBC and Peacock.

A full event schedule for Kentucky athletes is listed below.

Event Schedule

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