Rower Joanie Delgaco clinches Olympic quarterfinals slot after topping repechage heat

Filipina rower Joanie Delgaco sealed her place in the quarterfinals of the women's single sculls after finishing first in the repechage round in the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Delgaco built momentum early and never relinquished the lead, clocking seven minutes and 55 seconds to finish first among five racers in Heat 1.

Vietnam's Thi Hue Pham also qualified for the quarterfinals after she came in second behind Delgaco, finishing the race after eight minutes and .97 seconds. The top two in the heat would advance to the next round.

Read more | Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Delgaco, the first Filipina rower to ever see action in the Olympics, started off strong, similar to how she started in the heats yesterday, as she reached the 500 meters first with a time of 1:52.04 seconds. Nearly two minutes later, she crossed the halfway mark en route to a top-place outing.

The 26-year-old athlete needed to go through the repechage round, or simply the wildcard round, after falling just short of an outright quarterfinal spot in Heat 2 yesterday. She registered seven minutes and 56.26 seconds to finish fourth in the six-member field, dropping to repechage.

Delgaco will take a one-day break before continuing her historic Summer Games campaign on Tuesday for the quarterfinals set at 3:30 p.m. at the same venue.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News