CORRECTION: Lucknow Olympian getting plenty of support

As Julie-Anne Staehli's Olympic opportunity draws closer, the local area is throwing its support behind the runner.

As Canadian flags and posters of encouragement decorate homes and storefronts in the Lucknow area and beyond, social media is also abuzz.

A Facebook group, titled Julie Anne's Journey to the Tokyo Olympics, has been set up and features what community members have done to support Staehli and features plenty of words of encouragement.

Staehli is currently with the Canadian track and field team in Flagstaff, Arizona for training and will head to Tokyo just days before her event runs on July 30th.

Because of the state of emergency due to COVID in Tokyo, Canadian athletes competing at the games will arrive at different times through the event and leaving as soon as possible after their events.

Staehli shared her excitement with CKNX after being chosen to compete for Canada in the women's 5000 m in early July.

It’s expected that 45 women will compete in the 5000 m event on July 30th with the field split into two semi-final heats. Those heats are scheduled to run at 7 p.m. and 7:26 p.m. local time.

For Canadians in the Eastern Time Zone, that means the heats will be at 6 a.m. and 6:26 a.m. on July 30th as Tokyo is 13 hours ahead.

The top five finishers in each semi-final will advance along with the next five best times overall for a total of 15 runners in the final race.

CORRECTION: Race times for Eastern time zone corrected.