Paris Olympics: Hurdler John Tolentino keeps medal bid alive

(FromL) Philippines’ John Cabang, Brazil’s Eduardo Rodrigues, Poland’s Jakub Szymanski and Germany’s Manuel Mordi compete in the men’s 110m hurdles heat of the athletics event at the Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Martin BERNETTI / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines—Team Philippines’ John Cabang Tolentino may not have earned an outright spot in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics 2024 men’s 110m hurdles first round but his hopes for a medal finish stayed alive.

Clocking in 13.66 seconds in Heat 1, the Filipino-Spanish finished as the sixth-best hurdler at Stade de France on Sunday (Manila time).

Only the Top 3 are assured of a semis ticket.

LIVE UPDATES: Team Philippines at Paris Olympics 2024 August 4

Japan’s Muratake Rachid (13.22), Spain’s Enrique Llopis (13.28) and Eduardo Rodrigues of Brazil (13.37) were the three runners that reached the semifinal from Tolentino’s Heat.

The 22-year-old Tolentino, who finished fourth at last year’s Asian Games in the same event, could’ve reached the semis if his time was among the three fastest times outside of the Top 15. Unfortunately for Tolentino, his time ranked just 32nd overall in the first round.

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Grant Holloway of USA topped the leaderboard after finishing the course with a time of 13.01 seconds.

Tolentino competes in the repechage on Tuesday at 4:50 p.m.