Former University of Utah runner Josefine Eriksen ran the opening leg for the Norway women’s 4x400-meter relay team at the Paris Olympics on Friday in her Olympic debut.
Eriksen and the Norwegians failed to advance to Saturday’s final round after finishing sixth in their heat with a time of 3:28.61.
Eriksen ran the 400 in a time of 52.5 seconds, putting Norway into fourth place after her leg. The Norwegians slipped two more positions over the final three legs of the race.
Only the top three in each of the two heats, plus the next two fastest times, advanced to the 4x400-meter relay final.
The United States won the first heat — the same one as the Norwegians — with a season-best time of 3:21.44, while Jamaica was first in the second heat in a time of 3:24.92.
It was the first time Norway, which had the 13th-fastest time and missed qualifying by nearly three seconds, had qualified a relay team for the Olympics since 1920.
The Norwegians’ time was nearly two seconds slower than their time of 3:26.89 in May when they qualified for the Olympics at the World Athletics Relays. In that race, Eriksen completed her leg in a time of 51.77 seconds.
Eriksen wrapped up her Utah career in June and earned second-team All-American honors — she finished her collegiate career as the Utes’ all-time outdoor leader in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter, while also competing on the 4x100-meter, 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relay teams that broke school records.