Utah Native Whittni Morgan Qualifies For Women’s 5000m Final
Aug 2, 2024, 12:07 PM | Updated: 12:49 pm
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 02: Whittni Morgan of Team United States celebrates after the Women's 5000 Metres heats on day seven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 02, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PARIS – Panguitch native and BYU graduate Whittni Morgan put up a season-best time as she qualified for the Women’s 5000m Final on Friday.
Morgan finished sixth in her heat with a time of 15:02.14.
Keep up with the Olympic medal count here.
A great debut!! 😁
First-time Olympian Whittni Morgan races like a veteran in her 5000m prelim, securing a spot in the final with a 15:02.14 outdoor season’s best for 6th in her heat. pic.twitter.com/uItyWsUVjL
— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) August 2, 2024
Whittni Morgan Qualifies For Final In Olympic Debut
It was Morgan’s first time on the Olympic stage but you couldn’t tell. She was calm, cool, and collected from the start and kept a great pace until the finish.
Sitting near the back of the second 20-person heat, Morgan needed consistency to be one of the eight to qualify.
The first 1000 meters took her just over 3 minutes and she wasn’t able to move her rank much as she held 13th.
The next 1k was about two seconds slower and she lagged back to 15th as a result. As Morgan passed the midpoint of the race, she kicked it into overdrive.
All Americans are through to the women’s 5,000m final! 🇺🇸
Whittni Morgan ran to a strong season best of 15:02.14 to secure her spot in the final with a sixth-place finish in the final heat of the first round.
Beatrice Chebet 🇰🇪 looked smooth as she won the final section in… pic.twitter.com/JxZAjurw7I
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 2, 2024
She finished the next 1000 meters half a second faster than her first 1k and then followed that by shaving off four seconds on the next.
With 1k left, Morgan still sat in 13th. She needed to pass at least five people in order to race in the final on August 5.
She took off over 12 seconds, running 1000 meters in 2:47.94 to pass six people and secure a spot in the final.
Path To Paris
Morgan’s path to becoming a first-time Olympian was unlike most others.
She finished fifth in the 5000m at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Her Paris hopes were seemingly dead.
But then, two of the racers in front of her decided to commit to their best event. Luckily for Morgan, that meant Parker Valby running in the 10k and Elle St. Pierre in the 1500m.
All of a sudden, Team USA needed one more runner for the 5000m and Morgan was the next up.
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The 2024 Paris Olympics takes place Friday, July 26, through Sunday, August 11. The Paris Games are comprised of 329 events across 19 days, with 754 competitions and ceremonies for more than 10,000 athletes.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @CHoltSports or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
