Grenada’s Neisha Bernard-Thomas Eighth in 800M Semifinal Heat
Above: 800m in London (Photo: London 2012)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Grenada’s Neisha Bernard-Thomas finished eighth in her women’s 800M semifinal heat Thursday.
While her time of 2:00:68 fell short of qualifying for the final, Grenada has clearly made a statement on the Olympic stage in London, following Kirani James’ historic gold in the men’s 400-metre final.
Her time represented her season-best showing.
It was a particularly difficult semifinal, as only the top two runners in each heat advanced to the final, and Bernard-Thomas was going up against a very challenging field including Caster Semenya, who finished first in 1:57:67.
The Grenadian hails from St Patrick.
She was one of just two Caribbean runners competing in the semifinal, along with Cuba’s Rose Mary Almanza, who did not qualify.
Only Semenya and Elena Arzhakova qualified from Bernard-Thomas’ heat, with the latter finishing in 1:58:13.
