© Copyright – 2024 – Athletics Illustrated
During the athletics portion of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, for the first time ever a repechage round will be introduced for all individual track events from 200m to 1500m including hurdles. Below, this is explained.
“The repechage rounds will give more exposure to our sport during the peak Olympic period and will be carefully scheduled to ensure that every event on our Olympic program retains its share of the spotlight,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
The new repechage round
The repechage round is an innovation that will make its debut in Paris and will change the qualification system for the semi-finals.
The format will now include six different distances in both men’s and women’s races. There will be four rounds instead of the usual three, meaning more track and more drama.
In all first-round heats on the track, athletes will guarantee their progress to the second round. As per usual, they do this by finishing in the automatic qualifying positions in first, second and third regardless of their time.
The World Athletics Council approves an innovation to the regular competition format for @Paris2024, introducing a repechage round to all individual track events from 200m to 1500m in distance, including the hurdles events 👇
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 25, 2022
Athletes who do not qualify by finishing in the automatic qualifying positions in Round 1 heats will have a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by participating in repechage heats.
This new repechage format will replace the former rounds method when athletes would advance through the next fastest times achieved. In the results, the automatic qualfiers would have a capital Q next to their result, while the next best times (compared across the heats) would have a small “q” next to their name.
Rowing uses repechage rounds. It has proven to be exciting, as sometimes medal favourites have bad races, and redeem themselves with an extra round, making the finals even more dramatic than they were.
Distances with repechage
- 200m
- 400m
- 800m
- 1500m
- 100mH (W)
- 110mH (M)
- 400mH
The 100m event will continue as per the past with its preliminary heats.
A repechage round will not be introduced in long-distance events, as athletes need to recover. The 3000m steeplechase and 5000m will have its first heats, then final. The 10,000m, although it once had heats continues as a one-off final event.
Paris repechage schedule
This is the schedule of repechage rounds in the athletics competitions at Paris 2024.
Saturday 3 August
- Morning session: Women’s 800m repechage
- Evening session: Men’s 1500m repechage
Monday 5 August
- Morning session: Women’s 200m repechage
- Morning session: Women’s 400m hurdles repechage
- Morning session: Men’s 400m repechage
Tuesday 6 August
- Morning session: Women’s 400m repechage
- Morning session: Men’s 110m hurdles repechage
- Morning session: Men’s 400m hurdles repechage
- Morning session: Men’s 200m repechage
Wednesday 7 August
- Morning session: Women’s 1500m repechage
Thursday 8 August
- Morning session: Women’s 100m hurdles repechage
- Morning session: Men’s 800m repechage
