History in the Making
by Mark Cullen
from Seattle
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.
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 3rd 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 7th 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 4th to bronze. I can only hope that she knew the race was under protest so that her re-positioning to 4th 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 4th 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.
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