Valerie Constien will have an opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal.
The former Colorado track and cross country standout advanced out of the opening round of the 3,000-meter women’s steeplechase early Sunday morning at the Paris Olympics.
Constien, who set a meet record while winning the US Olympic Trials earlier this summer while just 15 months removed from ACL surgery, finished 12th overall with a time of 9 minutes, 16.33 seconds.
The top five from each of three heats advanced to Tuesday’s final, and Constien survived a tight finish to place third in the second heat. The No. 6 finisher in that heat, Germany’s Olivia Gurth, finished just 0.14 seconds behind Constien and only 0.01 behind the heatap final qualifying spot at No. 5.
Constien finished 12th at the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021) and posted a personal-best mark of 9:03.22 at the Olympic Trials. Constien will be joined in the final by American teammate Courtney Wayment, who finished fourth in a fast opening heat with a mark of 9:10.72 that stood as the No. 4 mark overall. The final American, Marisa Howard, didn’t advance after finishing 24th (9:24.78).
Since the inception of the women’s steeplechase as an Olympic sport, CU has been represented in Olympic field — Jenny Simpson in 2008; Emma Coburn and Shalaya Kipp in 2012; Coburn in 2016 and Coburn and Constien in the last Olympics.
