Aug. 14, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL. – Gamecock great Natasha Hastings will run for an Olympic gold medal Monday, as she finished third overall in the women’s 400m Sunday night with a season-best time of 49.90. It will be her first opportunity at winning an individual medal, she previously won gold in 2008 with the 4x400m relay.

Running in the second heat, Hastings had her trademark strong start and carried a large lead through the first 300 meters. Despite pulling up her stride in the final meters before the line, she recorded a time of 49.90 that was the third fastest out of the 24 semifinalists. That time came just six thousandths of a second off matching her personal best of 49.84, set back in 2007.

UP NEXT

The women’s 400m final will run Monday night at 9:45 p.m. ET. Coverage will be on NBC, as well as NBCOlympics.com.