Nafi Thiam threw her spear 54.68 m. It was a bit of a wait until the Dutch Anouk Vetter – after the long jump in the lead in the heptathlon – had finished her turn in the next heat. With one track to go, the 800m, Thiam has regained her lead. If she can hold on to it, she will extend her Olympic title.
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With a jump of 6m60, Nafi Thiam had already won the long jump in the heptathlon at the Tokyo Games on Thursday. Now she also dominated the javelin throw. Her point count grew to 5,912 points. At the 800 meters
Noor Vidts shattered her personal best in the javelin throw three times. With 41.80 m she performed excellently in a discipline that is not her favorite. The 800 m, the last part, suits her better. There she has. She hopes to set a top time. Thanks to a nice jump of 6.32 m she still has a chance to win a medal. For now, she has 5,592 points.
From third to first
In the long jump, the opening stage of the final day, Thiam only reached 6.60 m on her decisive third jump, after a nil jump and 6.47 on her second attempt. Her personal best is 6.86 m, in Rio she set 6.58 m.
Defending champion Nafi Thiam closed the first day of competition with third place on Wednesday and admitted afterwards that she had fallen somewhat below expectations, possibly due to the heat in the Japanese capital.
Main competitors
In the battle for gold, Thiam saw Katarina Johnson-Thompson drop out. The British went down during the 200 meters with a new injury to the Achilles tendon and therefore scored no points in that part.
The main opposition seems to come from the two Dutch athletes Anouk Vetter (for the time being second with 5,848 points) and Emma Oosterwegel (fourth with 5,642 points), the American Kendell Williams (on three with 5,642 points), and the surprising Noor Vidts on the fifth place for now. In the four classes of the opening day yesterday she set no fewer than three personal bests, and today she smashed all her personal best javelin throw.
On to two Belgian medals?
Last winter, Noor Vidts was the surprise of the European Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, when she won silver after a series of personal bests, behind the unapproachable Thiam.
The heptathlon will be concluded on Thursday evening with the double track round. At around 2.30 pm Belgian time, Thiam knows whether she can write a second Olympic title on her honors list five years after Rio. Her honors list also includes a world title (London 2017), a European title (Berlin 2018) and two European indoor titles (Belgrade 2017 and Torun 2021).
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