9 Aug 2024

Olympics: Maia Ramsden breaks NZ record in 1500m semi

6:16 am on 9 August 2024
Maia Ramsden from New Zealand is competing in the 1500 meters event at the 2024 World Athletics Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto) (Photo by MI News / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

(file photo) Photo: MI NEWS

Kiwi Maia Ramsden, the young up-and-coming middle distance runner, has set a new national record for the women's 1500m in the Paris Olympics semi-final.

She ran 4.02.20 to break the previous record by .38s.

Ramsden was dropped by the front pack at the 800m mark, but ran a fast second half to catch up and finished eighth.

It was not enough to secure a place in the final - but she was rewarded with a new New Zealand record.

Ramsden runs as part of the US collegiate circuit for Harvard and this year became the first woman in 20 years to win back-to-back American NCAA Division One 1500m titles.

...more to come

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