It was a debut and farewell for the Colombian sprinters Jhony Renteria and Ronal Longa, who were unable to advance to the semi-finals of the 10-meter flat in the athletics of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
According to the criteria of
Both arrived preceded by being the only athletes in the country to go under 10 seconds in the main event, but on the list of the stadium Saint-Denis They did not corroborate that.
(Mariana Pajón writes for EL TIEMPO after competing in Paris 2024: ‘I thank the country and I apologize, I gave it my all!’)
They wanted more
Longa was the best of the two, in his seventh series he achieved a time of 10.29 s and seventh place, his best mark of the year.
Rentería stopped the clock at 10.38 seconds and was also unable to advance, on a day that was tempered by the classifications of figures such as the American Noah Lyles and Italian, Marcell Jacobs, the one defending the title won in Tokyo.
“I got desperate. This race is 100 meters, not 60. I had a good start, but I couldn’t do it in the last 40 meters, that’s when I couldn’t find myself,” said the man from Valle del Cauca.
He didn’t look good, he was anxious to run to his dressing room and his face reflected a lot of frustration.
“I’m not disappointed, but rather sad because with my time I could have gone to the final, that was my goal. I came to Paris with that intention, but Rentería is here for a while,” said the 27-year-old.
Longa also failed to retain the 9.99 seconds mark, which made him the first Colombian in history to break 10 seconds.
“The record tells me I’m doing well, but the truth is that I would have liked to improve. We can lower the time further and next year there will be better things.”
Very young
Longa was preparing in Central America, focused on reaching the semi-finals, but he did not achieve that goal.
“I had a hamstring injury three months ago and that could have affected me. I am very young and that plays in my favour,” said the 20-year-old sprinter.
Lisandro Rengifo
Special correspondent from EL TIEMPO in Paris
@lisandroabel
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