Ugandan runner Ronald Musagala reached the finals of the men’s 1500m on Friday morning after a spirited sprint that saw him finish fifth in semifinal at the Olympic Stadium.
Musagala posted 3:40.37 – time slower than his qualification mark in the heats – 3:38.45 – as well as his personal best 3:35.02.
The race had him take the field through the majority of the first half of the race before passing 800m in 2:03.59, very marginally faster than the first semi-final.
Musagala set the pace upfront and secured himself finals slot crossing after winner Ronald Kwemoi, Djoubouti’s Ayanleh Souleiman, USA’s Matthew Centrowitz and Australia’s Ryan Gregson.
The best overall Commonwealth silver medalist – Kwemoi, posted 3:39:42 – time beatable by Uganda’s Musagala based on his personal best.
Should Musagala walk away with the crown on Sunday morning at 3:00 am, he will have cemented his mark at the Rio Olympics and globally all together.
