The Soriana Marta Pérez managed to get into the Olympic semi-finals of 1,500 meters thanks to his time of 4: 04.76 -personal record- which gave him one of the six play-offs, in which Esther Guerrero, three times champion of Spain, did not enter, which credited 4: 07.08 in the second series.
Pérez, debutant in some Games despite taking two World CupsIt was the first on the track, at 9.35 in the morning in harsh conditions for the midfield: 30 degrees of temperature and 66 percent humidity in the Olympic stadium.
His theoretical possibilities were much smaller than those of Guerrero because her starting mark (4: 06.96 this year) put her behind ten opponents and she doesn’t have a spectacular sprint.
The Soriana settled in the center of the group, which she pulled Canadian Gabriela Debues-Stafford, in the final winner with 4: 03.70 ahead of one of the favorites, the British Laura Muir (4: 03.89).
Marta went to the top of the last 400, had some stumbling in the penultimate corner and, overtaking on the inside on the straight, came seventh with 4: 04.76, personal record, and pending the repechage by times, which finally gave her a place in the semifinals .
Only two other Spanish, Mayte Zúñiga (4: 00.59 in Barcelona 1992) and Natalia Rodríguez (4: 03.01 in Athens 2004), they have outnumbered Marta in an Olympic Games.
Esther Guerrero has been installed in the international elite for a couple of yearsHe, assiduously participating in the best rallies in the world, but his only Olympic experience had been in Rio 2016 and in 800 meters, her original test, in which she has been eight times champion of Spain (half outdoors).
Esther competed in the second series, along with the great favorite, the Dutch Sifan Hassan, and with a starting mark (4: 02.41) that placed it fifth out of fifteen. The first six and six more in time passed to the semifinals.
Romanian Claudia Bobocea set the tone. Marta had to open up to street three to improve her position with two laps remaining and in the 500 she was at the same level as the Romanian, but the last turn was very long. Seven rivals were cooler. He finished eighth with 4: 07.08, with no option to enter the repechage.
In the uproar at the ringing of the bell, Sifan Hassan rolled on the ground., who had to sprint through the entire last lap to catch up with the group. He did it without apparent difficulty and even won the series with 4: 05.17. This same afternoon, at the end of the program, the final of 5,000 awaits him.