OTC Elite's Heyward shines in Olympic debut
By Curtis Anderson | August 11, 2021
EUGENE, Ore. - After two injury-plagued seasons, Oregon Track Club Elite's Jake Heyward showed what he can accomplish when completely healthy on the world's biggest stage in Tokyo.
The 22-year-old Welshman sparkled in his Olympic debut by placing ninth overall in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3 minutes, 34.43 seconds.
Heyward, who broke his own Welsh national record with a personal best of 3:32.82 in the semifinals, was thrilled to be one of three runners representing Great Britain in the final, but he knows there is much more to come.
"Mixed emotions, I think, really," he said in a post-race interview broadcast by BBC. "Obviously, it's a massive achievement to even be here ... and to make the final is a massive achievement as well.
"I'm a bit disappointed to not finish higher up. I did think I was capable of doing a bit higher, but I'm still young. I've got more Olympic Games in me, and hopefully, I can bounce back from this and try to make the podium."
Heyward opened the Summer Games with an impressive victory in his first-round heat in 3:36.14, and then advanced on time to the final with a sixth-place performance in the semis.
"Yeah, three hard races," said Heyward, who is on the entry list for the famed Bowerman mile at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic on Aug. 20-21 at Hayward Field.
"Obviously, coming off a PB in the semifinal, it's hard to then come back again. I need to get stronger for my training and that's something I can work on."
Three other OTC Elite runners competed in Tokyo.
In the men's 800m, 2012 Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos placed eighth overall with a time of 1:46.41 for his native Botswana.
Amos, who was making his third Olympic appearance, bided his time near the back of the pack on the first lap before moving up to third at the bell. With 200m to go, he began to fall back, and he was unable to improve his position on the home straight.
Amos was fortunate to be in the final. After winning his opening round heat in 1:45.04, he was involved in a collision with American Isaiah Jewett in the semifinals.
Jewett was a stride in front of Amos near the final turn, and poised to begin his closing kick, when the back of his heel appeared to hit Amos. Both runners went sprawling to the track. Despite the emotional devastation of the moment, Jewett and Amos helped each other to their feet, put their arms around one another, and crossed the finish line together in an incredible display of sportsmanship.
"We felt all the emotion when we went down," Amos told The Associated Press. "When we stood up and just tried ... to get home. I thought I was in a good position to take this heat, and I can't put words on it."
Later in the night, Amos was reinstated into the final on appeal. Jewett did not advance.
In the men's 10,000m, Patrick Tiernan, the Australian record-holder in that event, kept pace with the leaders until the final 600 meters of the 25-lap race. He was still in eighth place at the bell, but he was running out of steam.
On the final bend, with less than 200m to go, Tiernan stumbled, and when he entered the home straight, he was clearly in distress, falling to the track for a second time. Somehow, Tiernan managed to get to his feet and finish the race.
"It's the Olympics and I've been waiting for five years for it," he told the media. "It was about 180 to go that I collapsed the first time ... I didn't think I was completely done at that point, so I got up. It happened again and I knew I was in trouble. I was so close that you have to will yourself across the line and finish that race. I knew it was something I could do and also needed to do."
In the women's marathon, USA's Sally Kipyego stayed with the lead pack for the majority of the race, and finished 17th overall in a field of 88 runners. It was a strong performance for Kipyego, who crossed the finish line in 2:32:53. She then found American bronze medalist Molly Seidel and gave her a congratulatory hug.
OTC’s Sally Kipyego (right) embraces Tokyo Olympic Bronze Medalist Molly Seidel (left) after completing the marathon in Sapporo, Japan.
The race began at 6 a.m. and was moved to Sapporo to avoid the extreme heat and humidity in Tokyo, but the runners found little relief as more than a dozen competitors were unable to finish.