Noelle Montcalm Books Ticket to Rio in Women’s 400-metre Hurdles
Noelle Montcalm arrived at the track Friday as a dark horse in the battle to represent Canada in the 400-metre hurdles at the Rio Olympics.
Battling a nagging foot issue, Montcalm needed to finish in the top-two of a big-name field and do it in less than 56.20 seconds to meet the Olympic standard.
For obvious reasons, athletes prefer to reach the standard months before the Olympic trials. Leaving it to the last possible moment is hardly ideal.
But the 28-year-old from Windsor, Ont., was able to perform on demand, surging in the final stretch to cross the line first in 55.83 seconds to book her trip to Rio.
“My head is spinning right now,” she said, mere minutes after scraping herself off the track where she collapsed at the finish. “I’m still trying to go through the race in my mind. I tend to get down on myself and frustrated with little things, so I really just tried to stay confident within myself.”
