Pickerington Central graduate McKenzie Long had to wait about 10 minutes to know for sure, but she will compete in the women’s 200-meter final Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
Long ran 22.3 seconds in the second of three semifinal heats Monday at Stade de France, placing third, and ultimately qualified for the final on time. The top two finishers in each semifinal automatically advanced.
Long, who won the 100 and 200 NCAA titles in June for Mississippi , owns the second-fastest 200 time in the world this year at 21.83. Paris is her first Olympics.
She is one of three Americans who advanced , along with 2021 bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and Brittany Brown.
The final is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Tuesday (9:40 p.m. in Paris) and will be televised live by NBC. It is the last event of the day.
Thomas won her semifinal heat in 21.86, 0.08 of a second off her world-leading 200 time set in June during the U.S. track and field trials. She was behind at the curve but easily overtook Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain on the straightaway.