Shafiqua makes SVG proud with 4th in Olympics 800m
Vincentian athlete, Shafiqua Maloney proved that she is the fourth best Women’s 800m runner in the world at present when she finished just outside the podium yesterday, Monday, August 5, 2024, at the Paris Olympics in France.
Maloney, who was ranked 27th in the world going into the Olympics, placed fourth in a time of 1:57.66, as she trailed Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson (1:56.72), Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia (1:57.15), and Kenya’s Mary Moraa (1:57.42) in that order.
Maloney’s fourth place, according to Sportsmax’s commentary on the race, was the best ever placing for an English- Speaking Caribbean female athlete in the Olympics 800m.
Running in lane 4 in her first global final, Maloney who carried the hopes of St Vincent and the Grenadines and the entire Caribbean, seemed to have an opportunity going into the last 60m of the two lap event at the Stade de France.
However, she could not replicate her heroics in Sunday’s semi-finals when she out-sprinted her opponents in the last 150m, placing second, and gaining an automatic place in the final.
In Sunday’s semi-finals, Maloney carved out another of her best times when she clocked 1:57.59, and became the first Vincentian athlete to qualify for an Olympic final.
But her Paris sojourn began on Friday, August 2, when her third place in the heats assured the Vincentian athlete a run in the semifinal round.
In the heats, Maloney timed 1:58.69, to lower her personal best and the St Vincent and the Grenadines all time Women’s record.
Additionally, she became the first Vincentian woman to advance further than the heats in the Olympics.
Esworth Coombs in 1996, at the Atlanta Games, was the first Vincentian to do so when he reached the semi-finals of the Men’s 400m.
But Maloney’s first piece of Olympic history came last February, when she became the first Vincentian to qualify for prestigious Games.
She added more firsts for St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Athletics, when in April, she also qualified for the 400m.
However, Maloney chose her pet event at her second outing at the Olympics.
Maloney 25, made her debut at the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan in 2021, but did not get past her heat.
St Vincent and the Grenadines next appearance at the Paris Olympics will be on Wednesday, August 6, when Handal Roban competes in the Men’s 800m.
The Men’s Heats are slated to commence at 5:55 a.m Eastern Caribbean Time.
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