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Paris 2024: Gutsy Cathal Doyle bows out of 1500m with PB

Cathal Doyle recorded a PB in his 1500m semi
Cathal Doyle recorded a PB in his 1500m semi

Cathal Doyle ran a personal best in a gutsy display in the semi-final of the men's 1500m in Paris.

Doyle, running for the third time after progressing from yesterday’s repechage, dug deep in the final lap to clock a time of 3:33.15 on his way to a 10th place finish in his heat.

With the top six in each semi-final progressing to the final, the 26-year-old was less than a second from making an Olympic final, with the race being won by USA’s Yared Naguse in 3:31.72.

It’s been a tiring few days for the Clonliffe Harriers clubman, but he began well at Stade de France, clocking 57.9 seconds in the opening 400m as he sat in seventh place.

When the pace was picked up at the front after the second lap, it appeared as if fatigue may be playing a part as he drifted to the rear of the pack, but with the bell ringing for the fianl 400m, he found some extra resolve to kick on.

Approaching the final bend he picked up two places with a powerful finish to cross the line a personal best of 3:33.15 and 16th overall across the two semi-finals.

"It's mixed emotions…I felt it was there," he told RTÉ Sport afterwards. "It wasn’t going away from me, they were just a bit more comfortable the longer it went into the race than I was.

"Maybe it was the extra round, that’s my fault.

"It’s hard to be too disappointed when I ran a PB. Back in May my PB was 3:36.8."

Doyle was epecially pleased with how he tackled the final 400 metres when there was a danger he could fall off the back of the group.

"I think I did a good job getting back into the mix, catching a couple of guys," he said. "My first Olympic Games and I wasn’t a million miles off making a final. I’ll take that as a positive."

In the eagerly-anticipated first semi-final, Jakob Ingebrigsten edged out his great rival Josh Kerr.

In a race dominated by shadow-boxing between the pair, the Norwegian crossed the line in a winning time of 3:32.28.

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