A crowd of close to 1,000 people watched 17 year-old Sydney McLaughlin, the youngest U.S. track and field Olympian since 1972, run in the opening round of the 400 hurdles on Monday
There was a lot of anxious moments inside the gym at Union Catholic on Monday night, but for the crowd that stuck around 45 minutes after 17 year-old Sydney McLaughlin ran at the Olympics, it was well worth the wait.
On a night when Union Catholic hosted a viewing party at its school in Scotch Plains, which attracted close to 1,000 people, McLaughlin, a rising senior at Union Catholic, placed 5th in her heat of the women's 400-meter hurdles at Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 56.32. After her race most people headed for the exits, many feeling she wouldn't advance to the semifinals (the top 3 in each heat automatically advance).
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But after the sixth and final heat was complete, McLaughlin's time of 56.32 was fastest enough to qualify her into Tuesday's semifinal round as a qualifier on time.
When the list of the semifinal qualifiers flashed on the giant screen TV, the remaining fans erupted with excitement.
McLaughlin, the youngest U.S. track and field Olympian since 1972, will run in the semifinal round on Tuesday at approximately 8:10 p.m.
And once again, Union Catholic will have its parking lot packed on Tuesday with food trucks, a D.J., a beer garden, and much more as McLaughlin Mania, Part 2 will take place at the school for another viewing party from 6-9 p.m. as McLaughlin aims to advance to Thursday's final.