Simpson Advances To Semifinals At World Championships

DOHA, Qatar — Jenny Simpson, a former University of Colorado runner, earned a spot in the semifinals of the 1,500-meter run at the 2019 IAAF World Championships on Wednesday.

Simpson recorded a time of 4:07.27 to win the third heat. The top six finishers in each of the three heats automatically advanced, while the next six fastest finishers earned a trip to the semis on Thursday at 2 p.m. MT.

The CU volunteer coach is no stranger to international competition and it showed as she ran a very smart and confident race. She went straight to the front of the pack in the first 100 and was running alongside Spain's Marta Perez. Simpson remained near the front of the pack, but just before entering the final lap, she seized her chance and took over the lead.

It was a very close pack heading into the bell lap and with 200 meters remaining, they were running three-wide. There was some movement in the positions behind her, but Simpson kept focused and finished first, just in front of Canada's Gabriela Debues-Stafford (4:07.28) and Great Britain's Laura Muir (4:07.37).

Simpson will be joined in the semis by her two American teammates, Nikki Hiltz and Shelby Houlihan, who also automatically qualified.

2019 IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

Event	Round	Participant	Local Time	Mountain Time	TV Coverage
1500	Semifinals	Jenny Simpson	Oct. 3, 11 p.m.	Oct. 3, 2 p.m.	NBCSN (live)
1500	Finals	Jenny Simpson	Oct. 5, 8:55 p.m.	Oct. 5, 11:55 a.m.	Olympic Channel (live)

Simpson Advances To Semifinals At World Championships

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