Jake Heyward knows that no one remembers a semi-final, so he’s set his sights on producing a performance to remember in his first Olympic final.
The Cardiff native was part of a productive evening for British middle-distance running as all three of Team GB’s competitors reached the men’s 1500m final.
After Scotland’s Jake Wightman won the first semi-final, Heyward, and a second Scot, Josh Kerr, were part of a semi-final that was run at a blistering pace.
Winner Abel Kipsang of Kenya broke the Olympic record with a time of 3:31.65 but Heyward stuck to his task impressively and although he was outside the top five automatic qualifiers, his personal best time of 3:32.82 in sixth was easily enough to qualify as the fastest loser.
Having only recently graduated from junior level, the 22-year-old was given a brutal example of the quality at senior major championships but having held his own, he’s ready to kick on when he graces the biggest stage of all this Saturday.
“That’s just the semi-final, it doesn’t really matter what you do at that, it just matters that you get through,” said Heyward, whose race was broadcast live on Eurosport and discovery+.
“Everyone’s going to remember the final, so if you go out and have a good one there, that’s what counts.
“It’s amazing to be honest. I don’t really know how to describe it. I hope everybody at home is proud of me and hopefully they’ve now got something to watch on Saturday!
“It was tough. The seniors is a different set-up to the juniors. You can get a good position and instantly it can be gone, so it’s really difficult to navigate that.
“I didn’t actually run the best race – it wasn’t the smartest race, but I battled through and just about managed to qualify.”
With Heyward, Kerr and Wightman all into the 1500m final, Team GB’s chances of winning another Olympic medal in an event they have so much history in look good.
There is a healthy level of competition between the trio that helps spur them on and Heyward admits that being part of such a stacked group brings a certain pressure.
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“When you come and represent the British team you’ve got to be making the finals, that’s the minimum standard set,” added the Welshman.
“Jake and Josh have set the standard over the last couple of years. I wanted to really step up and show how good I was, and reaching the final is a major step forward for me.”
Stream every unmissable moment of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 live on discovery+, The Streaming Home of the Olympics.
