Stafford 13th in Olympic debut

CivMin’s Lucia Stafford reacts after qualifying for women’s 1500m semifinal at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Sunday, August 1, 2021. (Photo: Athletics Canada)

CivMin’s Lucia Stafford (Year 4 CivE) finished 13th overall in the women’s 1500m at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The 21-year-old Toronto native wowed the crowd with a personal best time of 4:03.52 in the Sunday, August 1 heats to qualify in seventh for the semifinals.

Stafford, U of T’s 2019-20 T-Holders’ female athlete of the year, followed that up with another fantastic result, placing sixth in her semifinal on Wednesday, August 4. She posted another lifetime best time of 4:02.12 to narrowly miss the final and finish 13th overall.

Her older sister, University of Toronto Varsity Blues track and field alumna Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, earned a fifth-place finish in the women’s 1500m at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo on the morning of Friday, August 7.

 

This story originally published by Varsity Blues