RIO DE JANEIRO -- Canadian distance runner Melissa Bishop will compete for a medal after advancing to the final of the women's 800 metres at the Rio Olympics on Thursday.
The Eganville, Ont., runner finished second in her semifinal heat with a time of one minute 59.05 seconds in the semifinal. Bishop was the frontrunner but Poland's Joanna Jozwik poured it on to finish first in 1:58.93.
"It was messy out there, you need to make the other girls aware that you're there," said Bishop. "But it's good, I'm through. It's important to just run my own race."
The 28-year-old Bishop qualified for the semis with the best time in the heats of one minute 58.38 seconds.
The Ottawa-born Bishop is the reigning world silver medallist at 800 metres, and won gold at last summer's Pan Am Games.
