Former Boise State Track Star Will Chase Olympic Dreams in Tokyo

Last week, all eyes were on Eugene as Boise State alums Marisa Howard, Allie Ostrander and Emma Bates battled oppressive heat and some of the toughest competition in the world for a shot at representing Team USA in Tokyo. 

All three women had impressive races. Howard ('15) and Ostrander ('19), placed fifth and eighth respectively, missing the Olympic team but they both walked away from the 3000 Meter Steeplechase with shiny new personal records. Emma Bates ('15) finished 29th in an incredibly large field in the 10,000 Meter Run. The race had to be moved to the morning session due to excessive heat in Eugene.

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No former Broncos will represent Team USA on the track in Tokyo, but there will be one alum lacing up his spikes to chase down the dream of an Olympic medal. Class of 2015 graduate, Jordin Andrade, has been selected to compete for Cape Verde in the 400 Meter Hurdles. It's an opportunity available to him because his father, Joe, was born in Cape Verde. His uncle, Henry Andrade, was also an Olympic hurdler who represented Cape Verde at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

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This will be in Andrade's second time representing the small country at the Summer Games. He competed for Cape Verde in Rio in 2016. During that trip, there were a lot of highs and a lot of lows. In the preliminary round, he ran fast enough to qualify on time for the semi final round. However, he struck a hurdle and was disqualified under the Olympic rule:

"A competitor who trails his foot or leg below the horizontal plane of the top of any hurdle at the instant of clearance, or jumps any hurdle not in his own lane, or in the opinion of the referee, deliberately knocks down any hurdle by hand or foot, shall be disqualified."

Andrade posted this photo on Twitter after the race:

He felt like the ruling was incorrect and filed a protest.  The protest was successful and he got to run in the semifinals. That run, good for 16th overall, made him the first Cape Verde athlete to compete in a semifinal.

The first round of 400 Meter Hurdles at the Tokyo games is scheduled for the morning session on Friday, July 30. However, Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of the Mountain Time Zone, so the event actually takes place at 7:55 p.m. MT on July 29 in our time zone.