Paris Day 10

 Two Relays and Two Marathons

Close Epic Olympics in Grand Style 

by Mark Cullen 

writing from Seattle

The string ran out for the US women’s 1500m team. After a stellar year in which you had to break 3:56 to make the US Olympic team, Trials champion Nikki Hiltz and Elle St. Pierre finished 7^th and 8^th. Faith Kipyegon won in an Olympic record 3:51.29, Australia’s Jessica Hull,\ won silver in 3:52.56.

Great Britain’s Georgia Bell - the revelation of the year - was 3^rd in a national record 3:52.61, while Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji found out what it’s like to run 3:52.75 and not medal.

Faith Kipyegon made some history of her own, and this time it was winning her third consecutive Olympic 1500m title. Former Oregon Duck Jessica Hull finished very well over the last 100m, and especially the last 50 when she moved into silver medal position and was not to be denied.

Good thing Hull had established herself so well. Bell had a finish reminiscent of Yared Nuguse’s in the men’s 1500, and Hull hung on for silver while Bell’s fast last 400 netted her bronze and almost silver. It’s what I’d call an outstanding bell lap.

*It’s not often that I’d call a men’s 5,000m championship race at this level a jog in the park, but if not that, it was certainly a stroll that played directly into Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s hands.

A dawdling pace with a closely bunched pack for much of the race, when it came time to kick, no one could match him.

With 2 laps to go, Ethiopia led 1-2-3. With one, it was Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet in the lead. Ingebrigtsen surged past him, and when Ingebrigtsen had 80 meters to go, Grant Fisher (US) had 110m left. In fact, at that point, Fisher was 7^th passing into 6^th, and Kenya’s patient Ronald Kwemoi joined the race for the medals at last.

Down the homestretch, Ingebrigtsen’s lead and speed were unassailable, and he won in 13:13.66. Kwemoi held on for silver in 13:15.04, and Fisher sped by three runners in the last 35m to win his second bronze of the meet, only .09 behind Kwemoi.

Mysteriously, the Ethiopians who had seemed so strong with 2 laps to go finished 5-6-14, though Biniam Mihary in 6^th place gets a pass as he’s only 17 years old.

 *Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi won the women’s javelin by a comfortable margin of almost two meters over South Africa’s Jo-Ane Van Dyk, 65.80 (215-10) to 63.93 (209-9), with Nikola Ogrodnikova (CZE) third in 63.68 (208-11).

Kitaguchi threw her golden winner in the first round and that let most of the competitive air out of the room. After World bronze in ’22 and gold in ’23, this had the feeling of a well-earned coronation.

In what we hope is not a changing of the guard, Kelsey-Lee Barber (Aus), two-time World and Olympic bronze medalist, and European Champion Christin Hussong (Ger), did not advance to the final. Props to surprise 2016 Olympic Champion Sara Kolak (CRO), who finished 4^th today. It’s no longer a surprise when she throws this well.

*There would be no tie this time. The men’s high jump seemed destined for a repeat of 2021, when Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) famously agreed to tie for Olympic gold.

This competition had the makings of a repeat of that instant classic. With New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr and US’s Shelby McEwen tied for first and the competition concluded for everyone else (and with Barshim the bronze medal winner at (2.34/7-8)), the time came at 2.36 (7-8¾) for Kerr and McEwen to decide what to do. Share the gold or jump off for first and second?

Jump off it was, and after going up and then down when neither cleared the initial tie-breaking height of 2.38 (7-9¾), in the end it was a clearance by Hamish at 2.34 that finally broke the tie. Gold was his. Hamish, the 2024 World Indoor champion, tied an area record for Oceania, while McEwen in second set a personal best of 2.36 (he cleared 2.36 on the way up and missed during the tiebreaker on the way down).

Tamberi, who had been quite ill and had been in the hospital that week (and, it’s widely reported, the morning of the competition), was out early at a modest for him 2.22 (7 3¼) in 11^th place.

*The men’s 800m had a familiar ring to it. The 2012 Olympic race is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever run, led by David Rudisha’s world record 1:40.91. The top 5 broke 1:43 and all 8 finalists broke 1:44.

In Paris, Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya just missed Rudisha’s world record while winning in a PB 1:41.19 today. Canada’s Marco Arop missed winning by 1/100^th of a second in 1:41.20. Wanyonyi and Arop used opposite strategies as Wanyonyi was first to the bell while Arop was last.

Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati won bronze in 1:41.50, and US’s Bryce Hoppel set an American Record of 1:41.67 in 4^th. It’s remarkable to consider that Hoppel ran 1:41.67 and did not medal.

But for Rudisha’s world record in 2012, today places 2-8 were faster than their counterparts in Rudisha’s epic race.

*Women’s 100m hurdles With Masai Russell’s US Olympic Trials win, you could just see her coming.

Masai Russell wins the 100m hurdles

Photo by Dan Vernon for World Athletics

And when two-time World champion Danielle Williams and World record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR) failed to make the final, the door was open wider than many expected it to be.

Nonetheless, the women’s 100m hurdles final was, as always, one of the deepest to make. While two of the heavy favorites were out, the defending champion was in. Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn was now a favorite to repeat.

In an exceedingly close race – close competitions were a hallmark of these Games – the top 3 finished within 3/100 of a second of each other in 12.33, 12.34, and 12.36.

Russell had the perfect lean on the single day she needed it most, and she emerged as Olympic champion.

France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela has won both gold and silver indoors at 60m, but had not yet proved herself over the longer (100m) outdoor distance. Today she all but mastered the extra 40m, as she fell 1/100 of a second short of an Olympic title. Still, she was a very unexpected wearer of silver at the end of the day. Camacho-Quinn was savvy enough to put herself on the podium once again, this time in third.

Nadine Visser (NED, 12.43) and Grace Stark (US, 12.43) rounded out the top 5, all five of whom finished within 1/10 of a second of each other. Shuffle that deck of cards 10 times and see how often it comes out the same.

*Women’s 4x400m relay The world records that concern me the most are the leftovers from the second half of the twentieth century – the ones that reek of taint and suspicion. Whether for a faulty wind gauge (women’s 100m) or overt doping, one that has stuck in my craw is the women’s 4x400m relay. The record setting USSR team ran 3:15.17 in 1988.

I had hoped that the US all-star team of Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Verone, Gabby Thomas, and Alexis Holmes might wipe the 1988 mark off the books.

Well, almost. The US team won by a Secretariat-like margin of over 4 seconds in 3:15.27, just a tenth of a second off the world record.

The US national record was 3:15.51, and that one did fall on Sunday. Rare that first, second, and third places should all run national records. Not to mention 4^th and 5^th!

The Netherlands and Great Britain were 2^nd and 3^rd in 3:19.50 and 3:19.72, while Ireland and France were 4^th and 5^th in 3:19.90 and 3:21.41, respectively.

An epic, historic race of almost inconceivable depth, and even with that depth, a dominating win. Perhaps the US All-Stars will gather at the World Championships in Tokyo next year and take care of unfinished business.

*Men’s 4x400m relay Perhaps they’ll be joined there by the US men on a parallel quest. They won in Paris in 2:54.53, #2 all-time behind the US 1993 WR of 2:54.29 (a race that closed out the Stuttgart World Championships, a race I was privileged to see). As that was Worlds, this is an Olympic Record.

Botswana was 2^nd in 2:54.53, just a tenth behind the US, while Great Britain took bronze in 2:55.83. The next three places also scored national records, with Japan snagging an Area record as well.

4^th was Belgium (with only two Borlee brothers on the team - how many could there possibly be?!) with South Africa 5^th and Japan 6^th, in 2:57.75, 2:58.12, and  2:58.83, respectively.

16-year-old Quincy Wilson’s epic season went a race too far. He opened the 4x400m semi-final by running 47.27, far off his PB of 44.20. Too much was asked of this engaging kid, and he had a protector in veteran Vernon Norwood who deflected any criticism of the decision to run Wilson in the Olympics.

Gotta give the kid credit. He has gold medal social skills, and brought us all back to earth with a social media post that went viral.

It’s a selfie with Wilson holding his gold medal and the caption, “Dang, I really got school in 2 and a half weeks.”

Two 4x400m relays.

Two gold medals.

Two #2 times ever.

Imagine if the meet had ended with two world records.

*Men’s Marathon Much was made of the course, and with good reason. The much-discussed steepness of the major hill proved to be the break point for Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola – a late replacement for injured teammate Sisey Lemma.

And when I say late… Tola had only two weeks to make the mental adjustments necessary to prepare for running the Olympic marathon. The 2016 10,000m bronze medalist had made a change to road running because of his disappointment at not winning gold at 10k.

I think he’s over his disappointment now. He broke one of the greatest Olympic records, the late Sammy Wanjiru’s epic 2:06:32 run in the heat and humidity of Beijing in 2008, by six seconds.

Second was Tokyo bronze medalist Bashir Abdi (BEL) 2:06:47, who gained international attention in 2021 when he was in 3^rd place in the final stretch of the marathon but in serious trouble and fading fast. His teammate, Abdi Ngeeye, slowed to encourage him to make it to the finish line, and he won a hard-fought bronze.

Today, Abdi added silver to his Tokyo bronze and crossed the line more comfortably. With his 2021 World Championship bronze from 2021, he has one of the best competitive records - 3 medals - in World/Olympic competition in the last three years.

Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:07:00, who was only 13 seconds behind Abdi, added bronze to his three World Marathon Majors titles - at Tokyo, Chicago, and Boston – in the last three years.

The cream of the crop rose to the top in this race, and it leaves one wondering why Tola wasn’t an initial selection on the Ethiopian team.

Sad to say, Kenya’s 39-year-old Eliud Kipchoge did not finish. One of the two greatest male marathoners in history, it looks like his Olympic flame is flickering at  long last.

*Women’s Marathon The International Olympic Committee gets props for scheduling the women’s marathon as the last event – the first time in Olympic history that a women’s event closed the Games.  In addition, the IOC achieved its goal of having equal numbers of men and women’s competitors in these Olympic Games – for the very first time.

No one better one to receive her gold medal during Closing Ceremonies than the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, who hung just off the main pack for much of the race and sped – yes, sped! – to a glorious win in an Olympic Record of 2:22:55.

Hassan and Ethiopia’s marathon world record holder, Tigst Assefa, tangled briefly close to the finish as each was attempting to run the same tangent. But Hassan’s momentum was too much for Assefa, who finished second, three seconds behind Hassan, in 2:22:58.

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri (2:23:10) and Sharon Lokedi (2:23:14 PB) finished 3^rd and 4^th as only 22 seconds separated the top four.

Hassan achieved a rare place in Olympic history as she won three distance running medals: bronze at 5,000m, bronze at 10,000m, and gold in the marathon – a truly stupendous achievement.

The Dutch have a cheer for their national teams and athletes: Hup, Holland! I can only imagine my Dutch mother reveling in the achievements of Sifan Hassan. 

In case you were wondering what the Olympic Marathon hill was like!

Photo by Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paris Day 7

Kenneth Rooks Rocks the Steeplechase

by Mark Cullen

Sophomore Kenneth Rooks winning the 

2015 Washington State small schools XC title

Photo copyright by and courtesy of Northwest Sports Photography

(Note the white finish line at the bottom of the photo.)

We should have known about this Rooks kid.

We should have seen it coming.

After all, a prescient fall tells all.

Kenneth Rooks took quite a tumble early in the 2023 USATF steeplechase championships. Memorably, he got up, worked his way back from a 40-50 meter deficit, and unleashed a withering kick to win.

While he was at it, he set a personal record of 8:16.78, in spite of his brief close up visit with the surface of Eugene's track.

That kick should have foretold all.

Last Wednesday, Rooks unleashed it on the global stage and won steeple silver at the Olympic Games.

Following Cole Hocker’s 1500m win, this was the second day in a row the US gave a shocking distance performance at the Paris Games. It was a transformative two days.

At the very least, the final sprint was expected to be between Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, defending Olympic and two-time World champion, and Lachema Girma (Eth), 4x World and Olympic silver medalist.

Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot, bronze medalist at the 2023 Worlds, was certainly expected to be in the mix as well.

Rooks’ finish was final drive as much as sprint. He jumped the field and stormed to the front with one lap left. An audacious move, one which caught the entire field completely off guard.

Rooks led the Olympic final by almost ten meters with 250m left, and was in a clear position for a medal with 150m to go.

At that point El Bakkali, Rooks, and Kibiwott had separated themselves from the pack, and winning an Olympic medal was a matter of clearing the last hurdle.

El Bakkali caught up to Rooks and took the lead, even as Rooks stormed down the homestretch with Kibiwott in close pursuit.

El Bakkali passed Rooks and won in 8:06.05, while Rooks’ 8:06.41 for silver is a personal best by over 8 seconds. Kibiwot’s 8:06.47 earned him major meet bronze for the second consecutive year.

El Bakkali deserves credit for coming back from so far off the pace. He was 7^th with more than 250m, two hurdles, and a water jump to go.

This was uncharted territory for Rooks – over a second per lap faster than he had ever run before. El Bakkali knows this territory well, as his PB is 7:56.68.

Rooks knows territory of a different kind.

Rooks won the 2015 Washington State small schools (1B/2B) cross country title as a high school sophomore. His winning time was 15:46.6 on the rolling 5k course at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. 

As a junior, his College Place High School had moved up to the 1A classification and he finished 4^th in 15:59.6.

It was his 1A XC title in 2017, his senior year, that foretold how he would employ the gritty, fearless running style he now is known for.

Rooks blasted from the starting line and up the 100m hill that defines the challenging Sun Willows course.

He passed the mile mark in 4:50.4, with second place already six seconds behind.

It was not much different at two miles: a 9:59 split with second place now 8 seconds in arrears.

Rooks continued to apply relentless pressure in the third mile and won by almost 17 seconds in 15:18.80.

Sound familiar?

At the Olympic Games, he turned the screws on everyone but the defending Olympic Champion. He stuck with the pack and never let go. In a sometimes crowded field - and with the whole world watching - he maintained both composure and place.

As an official at the State cross country championships for 35 years - and stationed 40m from the finish - I’ve seen every Washington State cross country champion cross the finish line since 1988.

Including Rooks, twice.

As a coach, I’ve coached in both of the classifications of which Rooks was a part.

Which gave us the basis for a conversation in the mixed zone in 2023, the day he got up off the track and won.

First, we established that he is from College Place High School and not Walla Walla High School, which is up the road a piece in Eastern Washington, and several times the size of College Place. In that neck of the woods, it’s very important not to conflate the two!

We spoke of coaches we knew in common, and of Washington State high school athletes who were succeeding on the national stage.

We spoke about his NCAA title that year, and of his USATF national title that day - the one which said that the NCAA win was no fluke and that he was here to stay.

“I just reminded myself of Henry Marsh who ran from the back of the race,” he said in the mixed zone. “I wanted to run competitively today, whether I was able to be in the top three or not.”

Last Wednesday, Rooks ran competitively alright. 

Imagine the post-race conversations in the Kenyan, Ethiopian, and Moroccan camps. They now have someone new to contend with, not to mention a fresh approach to the event.

A fearless one.

A courageous one.

Kick with 400m to go – why not?

Wednesday, August 7, 2024:

They’ve gotta begin somewhere, and it’s most gratifying of all when you’ve seen them from the start.

Sometimes that start is the Washington State small schools XC meet.

Sometimes a reward for a life in track and field is a day like this.

Special thanks to Cindy Adsit of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) for arranging use of the photo of Kenneth Rooks, and to Northwest Sports Photography for allowing its use. I am grateful to you both.

Paris Day 9

Rai’s Redemption

by Mark Cullen

from Seattle

Rai Benjamin (gold) and Karsten Warholm (silver)

Photo: Dan Vernon for World Athletics

*There's nothing better than an authentic redemption story, and that’s what the men’s 400m hurdles brought us on Friday. Even to someone who was already #2 on the all-time list when the day began.

Rai Benjamin(US) has famously finished second to Norway’s Karsten Warholm at seemingly just the wrong times, including the memorable day in Tokyo in 2021 when he broke the previous world record but still was second to Warhol’s demolishing of it that day.

After today, Warholm’s 45.94 still stands as the world record.

But now it’s Benjamin who wears gold. The US veteran stormed off the final corner just ahead of Warholm and extended his lead with every stride. His 46.46 season’s best turned back Warholm’s nothing-to-sneeze at 47.06.

Veteran Alison Dos Santos was third in 47.26, just two-tenths of a second behind Warholm.

23-year-old Clement Ducos (FR) was fourth another half-second behind, and stamped himself as one to watch in front of the roaring crowd.

At the end of the day, Benjamin’s time was half a second short of Warholm’s world record.

But his Olympic gold medal is just as shiny.

*In case you had wondered about Sha’Carri Richardson, she reappeared on the world stage today with a magnificent – and cheeky – anchor leg in the women’s 4x100m relay.

Behind by about 3 meters after two less than perfect passes, Richardson made that up quickly and even had time enough to deliver a scathing glance to Great Britain’s anchor, Darryl Neita, as they approached the finish line.

Behind the US in first (41.78) and Great Britain in second (41.85), Germany snagged the remaining medal in a season’s best 41.97.

*“It’s happened again for the United States!”

Usually when announcer Leigh Diffey says that, the US has racked up another spectacular success.

Unfortunately, if he says it during the men’s 4x100m relay, it’s disastrous for the US.

And it was, for an unfathomable 5^th time in 5 Olympics, the US failed to medal. A botched exchange between Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek was the culprit this time.

Taking full advantage was Canada with anchor Andre de Grasse in 37.50; a surprising South Africa was second (37.57) and Great Britain third in 37.61. In a meet of narrow margins, note that the top three finished within 11/100 of a second of each other.

*The Dominican Republic’s Marileiday Paulino won the women’s 400m in a stellar 48.17, the 4^th fastest time ever run. It had been a long road to Olympic glory as her two World titles and Olympic silver attest.

Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasser, former World champion, was second in 48.53, while Poland’s outstanding relayist, Natalia Kaczmarek, won bronze in 48.98 and should leave other teams quaking in the women’s 4x400m relay on Saturday.

*The United States’ Anna Hall got a disproportionate amount of attention from US national news vendors in the heptathlon, when others like Belgium’s Nafi ssatou Thiam, who won an unprecedented 3^rd title in a row, and two-time World champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, deserved far more attention than they got in the US.

Which is why it’s helpful to have Canadian (Vancouver, BC) television in Seattle cable subscriptions – it gives a more international flavor to the events, and you do get to hear Oh, Canada from time to time.

Thiam won by a scant 36 points over KJT, and Belgium scored a rare 1-3 in this event, with Noor Vidst third with 6707 points. Thiam now has

The aforementioned Hall finished 5^th after a brain freeze in the javelin when she had a long throw but stepped on the line, apparently unnecessarily, and negated the mark.

In addition to her three Olympic golds, Thiam has two World and three European titles to her credit.

*The women’s shot put reminded us of why we have the competitions. Germanys Yemisi Ogunleye was second coming into her last throw. She threw 20.00m to pass New Zealand’s Maddi Wesche, who stood at 19.86m. When Wesche could not respond, Ogunleye was first and Wesche second.

China’s Song Jiayuan had been in the top 8 of World and Olympic titles twice, and her 19.32 3^rd place finish represented a breakthrough at this level.

North Medford (OR) High School’s Jaida Ross – and the University of Oregon’s NCAA champion - missed a medal by four centimeters.

*Men’s triple jumper Jordan Alejandro Diaz Forrtune (ESP) had among his five fair jumps leaps of 17.84, 17.85, and 1786, which is nothing if not consistent! He outjumped pre-meet favorite and World and Olympic champions Pedro Pichardo (Por) by a mere two centimeters, 17.86-17.84. Andy Diaz Hernandez (It) was third in 17.64

Capping a terrific breakthrough year was Salif Mane (US) who won both the NCAA and US Olympic Trials titles this year; he finished 6^th in Paris today.

If this report looks like a diplomat’s checklist, you may be right. Each of these three medalists was originally Cuban and changed national allegiance. It was a Cuban sweep – but it wasn’t.

*This seems to be Beatrice Chebet’s (Ken) year. After demolishing the world 10,000m record and becoming the first woman under 29:00 at the Prefontaine Classic in May, she won a hotly contested 5,000m Olympic gold medal earlier this week, dispatching the likes of Faith Kipyegon (2^nd) and Sifan Hassan (3^rd), and Italy’s sudden star Nadia Battocletti (4^th).

Chebet became the third woman in Olympic history to complete the 5k/10k distance double. Just barely; Chebet was easing up at the finish line as Italy’s fast-closing Battocletti was not, and Chebet escaped with the victory by 1/10 of a second, 30:43.25 to 30:43.35.

Chebet joins Tirunesh Dibaba (2008) and Sifan Hassan (2021) as Olympic gold medal distance doublers.

Sifan Hassan completed part two of her distance triple in 30:44.12, with her second bronze medal in the series. She’ll try to win her third medal in the marathon on Sunday.

This was a sit and kick affair as the runners were closely bunched for much of the race, and runners checked each other (hand-checked, that is, to let the other runner know she was there and perhaps too close). Even the US runner Parker Valby took the lead at one point due to the dawdling pace. The pack finally blew apart with less than a lap and a half to go.

Bartocletti, the 5,000/10,000 winner of the distance double at the European Championships in June, has quickly established herself as one to reckon with, and her tactics here today mirrored those of Kenneth Rooks in the men’s steeplechase with the same outcome as each won a wholly unexpected silver.

Paris Day 8

World Record!!!

by Mark Cullen

from Seattle

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone dominated the 400m hurdles and won in another world record, 50.37, the 6^th of her stupendous career.

Had anyone said before the start that the race would be anything but a showdown between McLaughlin-Levrone and Dutch star Femke Bol, they would have been thought gek – Dutch for ‘crazy.’

Bol faltered at the top of the homestretch and instead it was Anna Cockrell (US) who stormed to the finish. It’s been a transformative season for the US star who trailed only McLaughlin-Levrone at the US Olympic Trials and who – widely picked for bronze - harvested unexpected silver here.

Cockrell finished in a PB 51.87 to become the 4^th fastest performer in history, while Bol finished 3^rd in 52.15. Only McLaughlin-Levrone, Bol, and former world record holder Dalilah Muhammad are now ahead of Cockrell on the world all-time list.

Meanwhile, 2024 NCAA Champion Jasmine Jones (US) set a PB in 4^th place at 52.29, and Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton was 5^th in 52.68.

With world record wins in both the US Olympic Trials and Olympic Games, McLaughlin-Levrone seems a sure bet for women’s Athlete of the Year.

SydneyMcLaughlin-Verone and Tara Davis-Woodhall

Photo by Dan Vernon for World Athletics

*In the women’s long jump, Tara Davis Woodhall (US) jumped 7.10 (23-3 ½) in the 4^th round to become Olympic gold medalist. It was a tight competition with Germany’s Malaika Mihambo, defending gold medalist and two-time World Champion in second, 12cm (4 ¾”)  behind.

Another 2 centimeters back in 6.96 (22-10) gave bronze medalist Jasmine Moore (US) the unusual double of medaling in both the long and triple jumps; she’ll bring home two bronzes. Italy’s Larissa Iapichino was 4^th in 6.87 (22-6½), with a gap, then, to the rest of the field.

Woodhall had six fair jumps, and the first four were 6.93 (22-9) or farther. Monae’ Nichols (US) got her major meet career off to a very respectable start with a 6^th place finish at 6.67(21-10¾).

*If there was a 'sigh of relief' event today, the men’s 110m high hurdles was it. Grant Holloway (US) had done almost everything there is to do in the event. The world record eluded him by 1/100^th of a second in 2021, and in a separate race also in 2021, the Olympic title by 5/100ths.

Now there is only one to go.

The three-time World Champion and Olympic silver medalist blasted out of the blocks and soon had the lead. He was never headed, though he looked a bit strained going over the last three hurdles. Nonetheless, he kept his composure and crossed in a winning 12.99.

At last he has Olympic gold.

Daniel Roberts (US) had a stellar race and won silver by 3/1000 of a second over Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell. Roberts took a fall after the lean of a lifetime at the finish line netted him silver instead of bronze.

Both Roberts and Broadbell had official times of 13.09 - a season’s best for Broadbell, though ultimately he won bronze. A star of the future – and after today, of the present – Broadbell, 23, is one to watch.

*M 200 Noah Lyles looked very tired in an interview the day after he won the 100m. He said it was taking him much longer to recover from the 100m final the day before.

In the staging room today, he said a version of ‘let’s get some energy’ in front of the television cameras.

Clearly, energy was missing for him, and he revealed after the race that he has had Covid for two days. Likely he will come in for criticism for having exposed others, and as he said in a post-race interview, it is up to USATF to decide who will constitute the 4x100m team.

None of this should take away from Letsile Tebago. The Botswanan star ran 19.40 to win his first major gold. Kenny Bednarek (US) was second in 19.62, and Lyles 3^rd in 19.70.

.22 is a massive margin at this level, and props to Tebogo for running such a dominating race. With World 100m silver and World 200m bronze, Tebogo now has a complete set of major meet medals.

Tebogo’s 19.46 makes him the 6^th fastest 200m man ever. 

The only other sprinter under 20.00 was 20-year-old Erriyon Knighton (US) at 19.99 in 4^th place. The prodigy is 6^th on the all-time 200m performer list.

Finally, note that the US went 2-3-4 in this race. Relays, anyone?

In a historically deep men’s javelin field – in which the top 7 threw over 86’ (282-2) meters - it was the second round toss of Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem that blew this competition apart.

Nadeem came in with a PB of 90.18 (295-10) and left with a new PB and a new Olympic record of 92.97 (305-0). It’s a remarkable improvement of over 9’. The 2023 World silver medalist then staved off a number of challenges, but this lead was insurmountable. Even his 6^th round 91.97 (301-9) would have been the winner.

The poster boy of Indian track and field, Neeraj Chopra, could get to ‘only’ 89.45 (293-5) in his second round. Chopra had an unusual scorecard in which he had only one legal throw and still finished 2^nd. Chopra has more social media followers than any other track and field athlete in the world at over 9,000,000.

Two-time World Champion Anders Peters of Grenada moved into 3^rd place in the 4^th round at 88.54 (290-6) to add bronze to his major meet medal haul.

Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) just missed adding a fifth medal to his major meet collection when his third round 88.50 (290-4) fell only 4 centimeters short of bronze. It seems unthinkable that 88.50 would not get you a medal.

Paris Day 6

                                   Epic Race – Epic Racer

by Mark Cullen

from Seattle

Cole Hocker - Olympic 1500m Champion

Yared Nuguse (3rd), Josh Kerr (2nd), Jakob Ingebrigsten (4th)

Photo courtesy of Dan Vernon and World Athletics

This is not a day that US distance fans will soon forget. A 1-3 finish in the men’s 1500m was not anything that anyone would have predicted.

Cole Hocker (US, Oregon) used the withering kick he is known for to pass Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the inside with less than 50 meters to go. Great Britain’s Josh Kerr was struggling to find a kick to match Hocker’s, and it just wasn’t there. 

Biggest surprise of all was Yared Nuguse (US), who stormed down the homestretch, almost caught Kerr, and won a magnificent bronze.

After a year of sniping between an often icy Ingebrigtsen and a ‘yeah, whatever’ Kerr, it was Hocker, the quiet one, who won.

Gotta give Ingebrigsten credit – he ran a fast pace and was committed to his plan. The 400m splits were 54.9-56.7-55.8, with 800m in 1:52.2 (pause and absorb that) and 1200m in 2:47.3. The runners were running single file most of the race; it’s hard to imagine running in a pack that fast.

Things fell apart for Ingebrigsten only after 1400m at this pace; his crucial mistake was letting Hocker go by on the inside, thereby giving Hocker a clear path to the finish.

The finish times are worthy of being repeated here:

1. Cole Hocker (US), 3:27.65 – Olympic record

2. Josh Kerr (GBR), 3:27.79 – National record

3. Yared Nuguse (US), 3:27.80 – personal best

4. Jakob Ingebrigsten (Nor) - 3:28.24

5. Hobbs Kessler (US), 3:29.45 – personal best

6. Niels Laros (Ned), 3:29.54 – National record

These have one common characteristic – they’re all under 3:30. Remarkable.

Note that the US finished 1-3-5, with Hobbs Kessler 5th at age 21.

This ranks among the greatest US distance races ever run, and is reminiscent of the wholly unexpected 2017 US 1-2 steeplechase performance at the London World Championships as Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs won gold and silver.

*Greece’s Miltiades Tentoglou now has two Olympic gold long jump titles in addition to his World title. The Budapest World champion in 2023, Tentoglou has also won back-to-back Olympic titles. Only one other jumper has achieved that distinction: none other than Carl Lewis.

Tentoglou put the meet out of reach with his second round 8.48 (27-10), while Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock chased him with six fair jumps and a best of 8.36 (27-5 ¼) for silver.

Italy’s Mattia Furlani jumped 8.34 (27-4 ½) twice – in the first and fifth rounds, to nail down bronze.

In an event once dominated by the US, not a single US jumper made the final.

*Hug of the day went to Camryn Rogers, Canada’s Olympic hammer throw champion who won today, with Ethan Kratzberg, Canada’s Olympic hammer throw champion who won yesterday. They are two of the strongest people on the planet, and I thought they might crush each others’ ribs.

A surprise who shouldn’t have been, US Olympic Trials champion Annette Echikunwoke, won silver, with China’s young (21) and exuberant Jie Zhao won bronze.

The distances were relatively modest today; medals were there for the taking at 74.27/243-6 (bronze), 75.48/247-8 (silver), and 76.97/252-6 (gold).

Meanwhile, former World Champion DeAnna Price (US) fouled her first throw and did not advance to the final eight.

*The pace in the women’s steeple was so fast from the start that the pack started to string out after only 600m. The pace was swift: 2:56.21 for the first kilo, 5:58.20 (or sub-9:00 minute pace) at two kilos, with an Olympic Record finish time of 8:52.76 for Winfred Yavi of Brunei.

The time results were deep, as Peruth Chemutai of Uganda finished 2^nd in a Ugandan National Record of 8:53.34 NR, while Faith Perotich of Kenya scored a PB and a bronze medal with her stellar 8:55.15.

Chemutai now has silver to go with her 2021 Tokyo gold, and Cherotich now has silver to go with last year’s World bronze.

The race was down to three with less than a lap to go, with Chemutai in the lead. Yavi caught her with 300m to go but didn’t pass her until after the last water jump.

The race was historically deep with France’s Alice Finot setting an Area Record of 8:58.67 in 4^th place after running a spectacular last lap.

A remarkable 4 steeplers were under 9:00 minutes!

US finalists Courtney Wayment (9:13.50) and Valarie Constein (9:34.08) finished 12^th and 15^th, respectively.

If you have a chance to see Yavi’s post-race celebration on film, it’s a wondrous dance of joy.

*Gabby Thomas (US) dominated a women’s 200m field that included the new Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred of St. Lucia. Thomas ran one of the greatest corners of her life and exploded onto the straightaway. She engaged the afterburners and recorded a decisive victory over Alfred.

Thomas won in a time of 21.83, a .25 second margin over Alfred, who won silver in 22.08 - thereby increasing St. Lucia’s medal haul to two!

Brittany Brown (US) won bronze in 22.20. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita went 4-5, and these 200m results bode well for both Great Britain and the US in the sprint relay.

In another series of extraordinarily close finishes in these Games, Asher-Smith, Neita, and Nigeria’s Favour Ofili finished in 22.22, 22.23, and 22.24. And the difference between bronze and 4^th was .02 – positively cavernous for this meet.

 

 

 

Paris Day 5

History in the Making

by Mark Cullen

from Seattle

 Men’s Pole Vault

He was born to do this: make history, that is.

Once again Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis put on a stupefyingly compelling display of pole vault greatness - long after he pocketed the gold medal he came to Paris to win.

It’s remarkable to see his height progression in today’s competition as he had no misses on his way to gold. Once gold was secure at 6.10m (20-¼), he set the bar almost 6” higher – a world record height of 6.25m (20-6).

With spectators eager to see history, Duplantis recorded the first ‘x’ on his scorecard – that is, a miss – and soon came his second, on a close attempt. But Mondo was not to be denied as he soared over the bar on his third try, emperor of his kingdom once again.

Mondo’s world record captivated the packed Stade de France, and Mondo, silver medalist Sam Kendricks (US), and bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis (GRE) engaged in uplifting celebration with the appreciative crowd.

On his way to silver, Kendricks had one miss at 5.85 (19-2½) before bowing out at 6.0 meters (19-8¼). Karalis, Greece’s surprise bronze medalist, was clear through 5.90 (19-6¼) before exiting at 5.95 (19 6¼).

Duplantis now has back-to-back Olympic titles, and is two-time World champion as well.

Women’s discus

Duplantis isn’t the only one with back-to-back Olympic titles and a knack for making history.

The United States’ Valarie Allman won her second consecutive Olympic discus crown in a competition that saw this year’s three best throwers emerge early to duke it out for the medals.

Allman opened with a foul and there was tension in the air. China’s Bin Feng, who surprised Allman and Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic (now Elkasevic) by winning the 2022 World title in Eugene, opened at 66.33 and led after the first round.

A conversation with Coach Zebulon Sion helped prepare Allman for her second throw, which proved to be the winner, though it did not yet feel that way at the time.

Feng had three more throws in the 67 meter range, while Elkasevic threw 67.51 in the third round – matching Feng’s best to the centimeter.

Elkasevic threw with much energy, enthusiasm, and engagement with the crowd, but ultimately had four fouls and a second best of 64.25, which broke the tie for silver in Feng’s favor.

Two-time Olympic Discus Champion 

Valarie Allman

Photo Countesy of Dan Vernon and World Athletics

Meanwhile, Allman’s series took on the look of her tremendous series at June’s US Olympic Trials in Eugene. Four of her six throws were fair, each of which would ultimately prove to have been the winner: 68.74 – 68.06 – 69.50 – 69.21.

Her average in Eugene was 68.66/225-3; in Paris today she ramped it up to 68.87/225-11. No matter how Elkasevic and Feng came at her, Allman always had a golden answer.

Like Mondo, the super veteran Elkasevic has two Olympic and two World titles to her credit. She was clearly thrilled with her bronze today at age 34.

Allman’s resume stands at two Olympic golds and World silver and bronze. Up next: Tokyo ’25 and an opportunity for her first World title. 

That would make history, too.

W 800

This is how it’s done. First you win three silvers in World and Olympic championships. All before the age of 22, which stamps you as a possible prodigy, or at the very least someone to look for in the future.

For Great Britain’s 22 -year-old Keely Hodgkinson, the future is now. She ran a remarkably composed and controlled race with a simple strategy worth its weight in gold. She ran to the front and was in a tightly packed group of four across at 200m. Hodgkinson had the lead by herself less than 100 meters later and never, ever looked back.

While Kenya’s Mary Moraa did indeed push Hodgkinson almost the entire rest of the way - they were close with 100m to go - Hodgkinson ran with confidence and assurance, and she unleashed a weapon no one else currently has: her withering kick, one that burned off Moraa on the final straightaway and kept her safely apart from Ethiopia’s fast-closing Tsige Duguma. Hodgkinson won in 1:56.72

Meanwhile, Duguma rushed by a spent Moraa, who would finish 3^rd in 1:57.4.

Duguma was second in a personal best of 1:57.15. No better time or place than to run a PB than in the finals of the Olympic Games.

Juliette Whittaker (US), who is only 20 years old, capped a breakthrough season with a 7^th place finish in 1:58.5.

While some are saying that Duguma is a surprise, I’d put it a little differently: she’s just getting started. The 23 year old won the World Indoor 800m title this year and now, Olympic silver. Nice start.

W 5000

A spectacular race was marred on the penultimate lap by an entanglement at the front among some of the greatest runners in the world. Faith Kipyegon was disqualified for interference but was reinstated two hours later after Kenyan representatives filed an appeal (there may have been an appeal from Italy as well; I do not yet have that information).

That somewhat innocent paragraph, above, hides a lot. For two hours, Italy’s Nadia Battocletti had cause to believe that she was an Olympic bronze medalist. Television found her crying in joy and disbelief after Kipyegon was disqualified and Battocletti was elevated from 4^th to bronze. I can only hope that she knew the race was under protest so that her re-positioning to 4^th came more as a terrible disappointment and less a surprise.

The worst part of all this was that it took two hours. While there was a lot of action to sort out, World Athletics needs to take a close look at its appeals process with a goal of streamlining them – with the understanding that a hasty decision has its own set of potential pitfalls.

Meanwhile, back on the track, there was a race, and a magnificent one it was. It resembled in terms of race strategy the 800m that followed. That is, the steady burning off of the field as it dropped from 9 with 3 laps to go, 8 with two, and a still crowded 7 on the last lap.

When the pack broke apart on that last lap, it did so quickly. Faith Kipyegon, who last year was an untouchable closer, burst to the front with 110 meters to go. Ruth Chebet stuck with her like glue and passed Kipyegon with 50 meters left and won in 14:28.56. Note that this is the 10,000m world record holder sprinting past the world 1500m record holder.

Kipyegon won silver in 14:29.60, while Sifan Hassan, who had broken away from the pack with 150m to go, stormed to bronze in 14:30.61. She just missed silver over a tiring Kipyegon by one one-hundredth of a second.

Props to Battocletti on her 4^th place finish and for passing two runners - from Kenya and Ethiopia – in the last 150m.

Props, too, to Elisa Cranny (US), who ran with the lead pack deep into the race.

Note: Middle distance and distance racing is a contact sport (ask Athing Mu), and while I think this contact pressed the boundaries of what could be considered interference, I do believe that no one person gained an undue advantage and that the medals will be awarded correctly to Beatrice Chebet, Faith Kipyegon, and Sifan Hassan.

My sincere apologies to Italy.

Paris Day 4

                                 By the Skin of his Teeth

by Mark Cullen

from Seattle

There were only three finals at today's Olympic Games, but oh what finals they were.

Up first was the women’s high jump, an event that reached stratospheric heights in July when Ukraine’s Yaroslava Manuchikh broke Blanka Vlasic’s 37 year old world record.

Nothing will stamp you as Olympic favorite like breaking a world record. Nothing says potential dominance like a world record height of 2.10 (6-10¾).

At the same time, 2.0 meters (6-6¾) has been the dividing line in recent women’s high jumping, separating the very good from the great.

And sure enough, today a remarkable six women jumped 1.95m (6-4¾) to make this a historically deep meet. But it gets even better. Two jumped 2.0 meters, and gold and silver were settled between them.

Manuchikh was clear through two meters while Nicola Olyslagers (Aus) took three attempts to clear 2.0 meters. Those first two missed jumps were, ultimately, the difference between gold and silver.

Similarly, the battle for bronze among the six at 1.95 was decided on the countback – that is, who had fewest misses. Iryna Geraschcenko (UKR) and World champion Eleanor Patterson (Aus) emerged as bronze medalists by clearing 1.95 on their first attempts.

Interestingly, first and second were from Ukraine and Australia. And third and third – yes, a tie! – were from Ukraine and Australia.

Patterson now has a ‘complete set’ of major meet medals: World gold and silver, and Olympic bronze. Today, Manuchikh added Olympic gold to her World gold and silver collection, while Olyslagers now has two Olympic silvers and a World bronze.

Display cabinets, anyone?

A notable 5^th was Vashti Cunningham (US) who is noted for her indoor jumping prowess. She has a complete set of Indoor medals.

Men’s hammer throw

This one was over early.

Canada’s Ethan Kratzberg is becoming the generational hammer throwing talent many observers thought he might be.

One throw and any thoughts of a close competition were gone. Kratzberg’s first round 84.12 (276-0) separated him from the field by a massive 4.15 meters

(13-7¼). No one else surpassed 80 meters (262-5) today.

The Nanaimo, British Columbia, native also won gold at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

Which isn’t to say it wasn’t otherwise an engaging competition – it’s just that it clearly was for silver and bronze.

Hungary’s Bence Halasz had an exceptionally good series, highlighted by his first round 79.97. He had three throws over 79.00 meters, and every throw was fair.

Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan had five of six throws fair, with two over 79m. Halasz and Kokhan won silver and bronze, respectively.

Rudy Winkler (US), 6^th, started well at 77.92, only to foul four of his next five throws.

Was there a bit of a changing of the guard today? Poland’s dynamic duo of Pawel Fadjek and Wojciech Nowicki, who dominated this event for a decade, finished 5^th and 7^th. They are both 35 years old; the three medalists are 22, 27, and 23.

 Men’s 100m

Today’s men’s 100m semis and finals produced some of the greatest depth in any 100m races ever run. Noah Lyles (US) led the statistical hit parade with a 9.79 victory over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson.

The unlikely margin of victory of was 5/1000 of a second. Thompson also ran 9.79, though Lyles’ 9.79 was faster than Thompson’s 9.79.

Go figure.

Noah Lyles

Olympic Champion 100m

Photo by Christel Saneh for World Athletics

Fred Kerley (US), who moved down from the 400m several years ago and won the World title in Eugene in 2022, won bronze.

With last summer’s World title to go with Olympic gold, Lyles has established himself as the fastest man on earth. As a mild favorite in the 100m event who won, he is expected to dominate the 200m in what is widely viewed as his better event.

Now for the stats.

 *In the semis:

 7 runners ran in the 9.90s.

 5 runners ran in the 9.80s.

 *In the final:

 2 runners ran in the 9.70s

 5 runners ran in the 9.80s.

 Oblique Seville ran 9.91 in the final and finished last.

 9.82 did not get you a medal – it got 4^th place for South Africa’s Akani Simbine.

Tomorrow brings us 4 intriguing finals, with the women’s discus, men’s pole vault, and women’s 5,000 and 800m runs. Does this mean you can’t attempt a 5,000/800 double?! Ask Sifan Hassan, whose 5,000 tomorrow is part one of her 5,000/10,000/marathon triple.

 

 

 

 

Paris Day 3

 A Wild Ride to the Podium 

by Mark Cullen

from Seattle

Today's men's shot put results look expected; 'normal,' if you will, for the event.

That is: Ryan Crouser first, Joe Kovacs second, and a surprise in third,

But it was a wild ride to this podium.

Hanging over the competition was the matter of Crouser’s health – his repeated serious injuries are taking a toll, as even he acknowledges. And yet he knew that what he needed more than anything was an opener right down the middle.

He’s not Ryan Crouser for nothing.

22.64 on his first throw, 22.69 on his second, 22.90 on his third, tightening the screws as he went, and the deal, essentially, was sealed.

A new contender emerged this year and was my pre-meet favorite for what would have been a collosal upset: Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri.

Even though he has a World Championship silver to his credit, he has never been consistent at that level until this spring. He even came into the meet with a season’s best a few centimeters farther than Crouser’s.

But Fabbri was off balance in the ring from the start, and things got worse when it started raining, as he threw sideways and out of the sector. He finished a creditable 5^th, but left with a question of what might have been.

Jamaica, better known for speed on the track than in a throwing circle, took home a surprising bronze when Rajindra Campbell popped a 22.15 second round throw, which landed him in second place at the time. 

Payton Otterdahl (US) spent much of the afternoon in the bronze medal position. However, ominously for him, Joe Kovacs and his wife and coach, Ashley, were having an animated discussion between the 5^th and 6^th rounds, one which Kovacs appeared not to win. He was in 4^th place at the time and had one throw left on the wet and slick circle.

He exploded also with a 22.15 and into the silver medal position, which moved a disconsolate Otterdahl to 4^th.

And Crouser into history as he won his third consecutive Olympic title.

*Note the scheduling of the Decathlon’s last event, the 1500m. It was tonight’s culminating event, topping even the women’s 100m final in this evening’s program at Stade de France.

The whole idea was that France’s Kevin Mayer was to have his coronation as the world’s greatest men’s athlete take place in prime time on this Saturday night.

No such luck. Instead, the injury prone two-time world champion, world record holder, and Olympic silver medalist has a thigh injury and scratched from the competition the day before it was to begin.

This opened the door for Norway’s Markus Rooth to put a generational stamp on the event as he is only 22 years old – a surprise who scored a narrow win over Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, 8796 points to 8748.

Neugebauer is a two-time NCAA decathlon champion at Texas and #6 in the world all-time. He, too, is young for the event at 24. Give him a few more years in Austin and he’ll have a German accent with a twang.

3^rd was Grenada’s Lindon Victor on what was a good day for athletes from islands.

Women's 100m dash finish

Sha'Carri Richardson (2nd), Melissa Jefferson (3rd), 

Julien Alfred (champion), Tia Clayton (7th)

Photo credit: Dan Vernon for World Athletics

*The much anticipated women’s 100m dash featured brutal semi-finals, with only the top two in each of three semis plus the next two fastest advancing to the final. The semis telegraphed the ultimate medalists.

Melissa Richardson (US) won the first heat in 10.99 with Cote d’Ivoire’s veteran Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith second in 11.01.

The second semi gave us a closer preview of the final than Sha’Carri Richardson’s   fans might have wanted, as St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred topped her, 10.84-10.89.

Alfred was commanding throughout, while Richardson let up before the finish, presumably to save herself for the final.

Most unfortunately, 37 year old Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce did not make it through warmups and chose not to start.

In the third semi (all of you having trouble with the notion of a 3^rd semi, please raise your hands; mine is up, too), Jamaica’s Tia Clayton ran 10.89, the fastest of the qualifiers.

In the final, Richardson started well; Alfred, on the other hand, exploded out of the blocks and won going away. A dominant victory: 10.72-10.87. Picking an opportune time for what may have been the race of her life, Melissa Jefferson (US) followed them onto the podium with a stellar 10.92 in 3^rd.

This is what the Olympics are all about: it’s the first medal of any kind for St. Lucia. May the organizers (please) double-check the match of flag and anthem before tomorrow’s ceremony.

*And while they’re at it… would they please check for Dominica, too?!

The women’s triple jump was unlike any held the past seven or eight years; that is, superstar Yulimar Rojas was out while recovering from surgery.

So dominant has Rojas been that the golden door was open today for those for whom silver and bronze had previously been the height of their aspirations.

Veteran Thea LaFond, 30, of Dominica broke the magic 15 meter barrier and set the national record with a PB 15.02 to win the rain-soaked competition. Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts, 32, was second, while Jasmine Moore, 23, who was 10^th at Worlds last summer, made a big leap up the ranks to claim bronze.

*4x400m mixed relay

With 500m to go and Holland in 4^th place well behind the leading US 4x400m mixed relay team, I said to myself, “Holland wins.”

Why so sure?

Femke Bol is that good.

A lap later the positions and separation weren’t much different than they had been a lap before. But Bol had run a masterfully measured race: down went 3^rd, down went 2^nd; she was in complete control through the finish – unlike her World Championships face plant with 5 meters to go the year before.

How good is good? Bol’s anchor split was a phenomenal 47.93.

The Dutch missed the world record set by the US in the semis yesterday by only two one-hundredths of a second.

Unfortunately, Bol raised her arms in celebration a couple of meters from the finish line. In all likelihood, that cost the Dutch the world record and the $100,000 bonus that goes with it. That’s a whole lotta Gouda.

 *Regarding the rain: ice skates would have been appropriate for a circle this slick. There will be much discussion about what course officials should have taken, but there is also the matter of being prepared with shoes appropriate to possible conditions. And it has rained mightily in Paris this week.

The throwers should at the very least have had a pause in the action and an equal opportunity for all to adapt to changing conditions. Clearly the putters who threw first in the rain were at a disadvantage when it came to having a chance to respond. It’s my understanding that the women’s triple jump was delayed for a relatively brief period of time for, presumably, the same considerations.

*Update: regarding the United States 4x400m mixed relay snafu in the semi-final round yesterday… Shamier Little, the second runner, was in the exchange zone after all… turns out that she was in the correct lane but at the end of the exchange zone, not the beginning. An official noticed and waved her to the correct position, thereby avoiding - by seconds - disaster for today’s silver medalists.

Paris Day 2

                        Of Shoelaces and G.O.A.T.S. 

by Mark Cullen 

from Seattle

There was only one final at the Olympic Games in Paris today - and what a final it was.

Joshua Cheptegai of Uganda confirmed his status as one of the greatest 10,000m runners of all-time with brilliant strategy that led to his scintillating win. He brought 3 World 10,000m titles to this meet and sealed the deal with Olympic gold today. 

No slouch on uneven surfaces, Cheptegai’s remarkable resume includes the World Cross Country title, which he won in Aarhus, Denmark in 2019.

Today’s winning time of 26:43.14 is the new Olympic record; 12 more of his compatriots behind him broke the previous record as well.

In second place was Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi, who has been knock-knock-knockin’ on podium’s door and was the least likely of the Ethiopians to medal today. He was out of the medals at the top of the stretch and surged – and surged – to silver, two-one-hundredths ahead of Grant Fisher, in 26:43.44

Much to the delight of his US audience, Grant Fisher won bronze after a hair-raising, ankle-twisting step on the curb late in the race. He handled this masterfully; rather than trying to make up for it all at once, he slowly moved back into the top 5, where he had been most of the meet.

By placing himself near the front of the pack, Fisher announced early that he was to be reckoned with. He had silver in his grasp until Aregawi edged by him at the finish. It appeared that Fisher eased almost imperceptibly and then tried to pick it up again once he realized Aregawi was coming.

Take a look at the film; I’d be curious as to your responses. It may also account for Fisher’s apparent initial lack of joy at having medaled, though it did not take long for a smile to appear – and stay there.

                    Joshua Cheptegai, 10,000m Olympic Champion

Photo by Mattia Ozbot and courtesy of World Athletics

Notes from today’s heats and qualification rounds

- US hammer thrower Daniel Haugh fouled all three of his trials in qualifying and is out of the meet.

- Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri stamped himself as the favorite (apostasy!) in men’s shot put as he led all qualifiers.

- Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith led all qualifiers in the women’s 100m at 10.87; hard to believe that at this time tomorrow we’ll know who the Olympic Champion is.

- Defending champ Valarie Allman led discus qualifiers by almost 4 meters. China’s Bin Feng has pulled off an upset at Worlds before, and while Croatia’s 34 year old Sandra Elkasevic may seem like a new kid on the block, actually, you knew her before as Perkovic – ahhh, that explains it! 

That would be the Elkasevic with two Olympic and two World titles, not to mention two World silvers. Allman can silence this talented field with an unanswerable first-round toss.

- I’m calling it now: Cole Hocker for a medal in the 1500m. His blazing finishing kick was on display today; in the semis and finals he needs to be sure not to unleash it too late.

- All three US entrants qualified for the 5,000m final. Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, and Whitnni "I can't believe I'm here!" Morgan made the most of their opportunities. Morgan was 5th at the Olympic Trials, and a series of fortuitous withdrawals led to her toe finding the start line today at Stade de France. 

Morgan took full advantage and suddenly finds herself one of the top 16 5,000m runners in the world. At the start of the final she'll look over and see Faith Kipyegon also in the race. Ain't life grand?!

- Well, yes it is, especially for Shamier Little, who made her first US Olympic team at 29 and - after getting into the proper lane! - set a world record in the 4x400m mixed relay.

- After much angst (to put it politely) in the fierce Jamaican social media/track and field press, guess who showed up to sprint the second fastest 100m qualifier? 

That would be Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, triple Olympic gold medalist and 10 – count ’em – 10x World Champion who at 37 covered the distance in a snappy 10.92 seconds.

These days it takes me that long to reach my shoelaces.