American Gabrielle Thomas added gold in the 200m to her bronze in Tokyo in 21.83 to end Jamaica’s sprint dominance. Canadian hammer thrower Camryn Rogers and Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won other gold medals in the steeplechase.
The European record holder from Norway, Ingebrigtsen, took the lead right after the start and led the entire field to the finish line. There he guarded Briton Josh Kerr, who robbed him of gold at the World Championships in Budapest last year. According to the edge of the track, however, Hocker passed him and was the first at the finish line.
Kerr, who started traditionally in sunglasses, defended the second position, the second American Yared Nuguse moved to third. Another medal contender, Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, the 2019 world champion, finished second to last.
The 23-year-old American miler, who has yet to win a major race, improved his personal best by more than three seconds and moved into seventh place on the all-time charts. The other two medalists are right behind him in them.
Ingebrigtsen also complained about the speed. “It didn’t go according to plan. It was too fast, even though I tried to slow it down. Today it was a hundred meters longer than it needed to be,” said the Norwegian, who is not used to losing at the finish.
“I assumed they would try to shake us off, but I believed I could be just as good. I couldn’t feel my body for the last two hundred meters, but somehow it pulled me over the line,” said the winner.
Tentoglou confirmed that he is the best long-distance runner today. At the European Championships in Rome in June, he jumped 865 cm twice, which were the longest jumps in the last five years.
He imitated American Carl Lewis, who was the only one able to defend the gold in the Olympic distance. But he still has a long way to go before his four triumphs in this discipline from 1984-1996.
Juška did not follow up on a great qualification in which he shone with a performance of 815 cm. In the final, he unsuccessfully attacked the eight-meter boundary, the closest he got to it was in the third attempt – 783 cm. It was not enough for the narrow final.
“Now in the final I felt better than in the qualification, but we fought a bit with the wind. There are no excuses that the wind spoiled it. We had to play so that it didn’t get stepped on, that was a shame. The wind spoiled it a bit, that I didn’t go for shorter frequency steps, faster, but it was all longer and more drawn out,” said Juška.
Thomasová, as this year’s number one in the world charts for 200 m, was the fastest in the heat, in the semi-finals and in the final. The winner of the 100 Julien Alfredová won another medal for the island of Saint Lucia, this time silver.
The Jamaican women, who won gold at the last four global events, were not represented in the finals, and after an unsuccessful 100, they vacated positions even on the double course.
“Actually, I don’t even really know how it happened. I just really wanted to win. I turned on autopilot and subconsciously knew exactly what to do,” said Thomasová.
In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Winfred Yavi won Bahrain’s first medal in an Olympic record 8:52.76 in Paris.
The native of Kenya repeated the tactics from last year’s World Championship, when she also stayed in the background and then applied a fast finish.
“It’s like a dream come true. It means a lot to me and to my country,” said the winner. It was only the third gold in history for Bahrain, the previous one was won on the same track in Rio de Janeiro by Ruth Jebet.
Peruth Chemutai from Uganda led most of the race, but after gold in Tokyo she had to settle for silver this time. Twenty-year-old Faith Cherotichová finished in third place.
The more famous of the Kenyan women and world record holder Beatrice Chepkoechova finished sixth. Frenchwoman Alicia Finot was pushed by a roaring audience to fourth place and a European record of 8:58.67.
Canada is celebrating its second hammer gold, just like last year at the World Championships in Budapest. Once again, Rogers perfectly imitated her compatriot Ethan Katzberg.
In the fifth series, she threw 76.97 m, which was one and a half meters more than her biggest rival. Until then, the American Annette Echikunwoke was leading with a performance of 75.48 m.
Kirani James of Grenada, who has amassed a complete collection of Olympic medals since 2012, was fastest in the semi-finals of the smooth Thursday. With a time of 43.78, he placed second on this year’s charts and showed that he is ready to add another valuable metal.
Only Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith is ahead of him, who this year was the first European to run a lap on the oval under 44 seconds. He would probably be even faster in the semi-finals, but he completely missed the finish.
In the women’s steeplechase quarter, there is a big showdown between American world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol of the Netherlands.
Fans of athletics have been waiting for him since 2022, when an American woman won in a world record at the World Championships in Eugene. The first wants to defend the gold, the second more than the bronze from Tokyo.
In the semifinals, they left their opponents far behind, McLaughlinová-Levroneová was faster in a time of 52.13. They will run much faster in Thursday’s final.
