Lanae-Tava Thomas, the sprinter and Rush-Henrietta graduate competing for her native country of Jamaica, will move on to the semifinal competition in the Paris Olympics.
Thomas, 23, came in 2nd in her 200-meter heat race on Sunday, with a time of 22.70 seconds, just behind the 1st place finisher in that heat, American Brittany Brown, who ran the race in 22.38 seconds.
Thomas’ father, Lance Thomas, is the Chief Financial Officer at WXXI, and said that he and his wife would be up early Sunday morning to watch their daughter’s first-time Olympic competition.
The semifinals in the women’s 200-meter event are on Monday, and the finals take place Tuesday.
Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson pulled out of the women's 200 meters on Sunday and will not race for an individual medal at the Paris Games.
Jackson, the defending world champion who is the second-fastest woman of all time in the 200, had previously withdrawn from the 100 meters, saying it was partly because of a leg injury she suffered in a tune-up race last month. It is unclear why she pulled out of Sunday's race.
It turns American Gabby Thomas into the clear favorite to win the 200. Thomas cruised through her qualifying heat in 22.20 seconds, as did Julien Alfred, who returned to the track and ran 22.41 about 13 hours after beating Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100 meters.
This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.
