John Cabang Tolentino misses outright semis berth, drops to Olympic hurdles repechage

John Cabang Tolentino gets one last shot at making the men's 110m hurdles semifinals in the Paris Olympics as he races in the repechage

MANILA, Philippines – John Cabang Tolentino missed out on an outright semifinal berth in the men’s 110m hurdles in the Paris Olympics after placing 32nd overall in the heats at the Stade de France on Sunday, August 4.

Tolentino clocked 13.66 seconds to finish sixth in his heat as he failed to make the cut, with only the top three in each of the five heats and the next three fastest advancing to the semifinals.

But Tolentino will get one last shot at the semifinals through the repechage, which will be held on Tuesday, August 6.

The USA’s Grant Holloway topped the 40-man field with 13.01 seconds, showing readiness for his redemption campaign after settling for silver in the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Japan’s Rachid Muratake (13.22) and Switzerland’s Jason Joseph (13.26) placed second and third, respectively, as a total of 18 hurdlers reached the semifinals from the heats.

Defending champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica advanced by the skin of his teeth, registering 13.43 seconds to clinch the last semifinal berth.

Tolentino, born to Filipino parents and grew up in Spain, qualified for his first Olympics after being awarded a universality slot together with Filipina-American hurdler Lauren Hoffman.

He fell short of matching his personal and national record of 13.37 seconds he set in the Philippine Athletics Championships in May – a mark that would have propelled him to the semifinals.

Also debuting in the Olympics, Hoffman competes in the women’s 400m hurdles. – Rappler.com