Everyone was on the edge of their seat as they anxiously waited to see if the USA's 17-year-old 400H, Sydney McLaughlin, would make it to the semi-finals.
McLaughlin finished 5th in heat 1 of 6. The top three finishers of every heat automatically advance to the semi-finals. Also advancing are the six fastest non-automatic qualifying times.
In the rainy weather of Rio's winter all she could do was sit back and see what her time of 56.32 could do against the rest of the world.
McLaughlin finished 20th overall and just squeaked in based on time. But all that matters is that the high schooler lived to see another day. She's only 17 and she is in the semis in the Olympic Games. With another chance to showcase her talent tomorrow evening, there is no guessing what McLaughlin might make of it.
FIRST 3 IN EACH HEAT (Q) AND THE NEXT 6 FASTEST (Q)
| POS | RANK | HEAT | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 904 | Ristananna TRACEY |  JAM | 54.88 Q |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 1373 | Ashley SPENCER |  USA | 55.12 Q |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | 603 | Sara Slott PETERSEN |  DEN | 55.20 Q |
| 4 | 1 | 5 | 1361 | Dalilah MUHAMMAD | USA | 55.33 Q |
| 5 | 1 | 6 | 701 | Eilidh DOYLE |  GBR | 55.46 Q |
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 591 | Zuzana HEJNOVÁ |  CZE | 55.54 Q SB |
| 7 | 2 | 4 | 1165 | Wenda NEL |  RSA | 55.55 Q |
| 8 | 2 | 3 | 896 | Leah NUGENT | JAM | 55.66 Q |
| 9 | 3 | 1 | 862 | Ayomide FOLORUNSO |  ITA | 55.78 Q |
| 10 | 3 | 4 | 1091 | Emilia ANKIEWICZ |  POL | 55.89 Q PB |
| 11 | 4 | 4 | 870 | Yadisleidis PEDROSO | ITA | 55.91 q SB |
| 12 | 2 | 6 | 499 | Sage WATSON |  CAN | 55.93 Q |
| 13 | 4 | 1 | 604 | Stina TROEST | DEN | 56.06 q |
| 14 | 1 | 2 | 1111 | Joanna LINKIEWICZ | POL | 56.07 Q |
| 14 | 2 | 5 | 483 | Noelle MONTCALM | CAN | 56.07 Q |
| 16 | 2 | 2 | 910 | Janieve RUSSELL | JAM | 56.13 Q |
| 17 | 3 | 3 | 1312 | Viktoriya TKACHUK |  UKR | 56.14 Q |
| 18 | 3 | 5 | 1311 | Anna TITIMETS | UKR | 56.24 Q |
| 19 | 5 | 4 | 1247 | Janeil BELLILLE |  TTO | 56.25 q |
| 20 | 4 | 5 | 345 | Lauren WELLS |  AUS | 56.26 q |
| 21 | 5 | 1 | 1357 | Sydney MCLAUGHLIN | USA | 56.32 q |
Day 4 Evening Recap:
McLaughlin after qualifying to Rio:
