Moroccan Abdelati El Guesse will compete on Thursday at the repechage round for a berth in the semifinals of the 800 m race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Moroccan olympian finished fifth in the first heat of qualifying, timing 1:46.91.
Belgian Eliott Crestan won the heat in 1:45.51.
The individual athletics track events from 200m to 1500m (including hurdles) now include repechage rounds, which were introduced at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Under the new repechage format, athletes who do not advance to the following round based on their round one heat placing places will get a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by competing in repechage heats.
This will replace the previous method, in which athletes advanced based on their quickest times, also known as ‘lucky losers’, as well as their top heat placements.