Sports
Historic feats as Thompson-Herah wins third gold of the Games
Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo defended her 400 metres title, US legend Allyson Felix became the most decorated track and field athlete in history, Joshua Cheptegei bagged a first 5000m gold for Uganda, and Elaine Thompson-Herah won her third gold of the games to grab headlines in another exciting day in track and field at Tokyo Olympics on Friday.
While Faith Kipyegon defended the women’s 1,500 metres title Jamaica and Italy grabbed the 4×100 metres relay golds.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo wins women’s 400m title
Shaunae Miller-Uibo who is well remembered for her dive at the line to win gold at the Rio Olympics needed no such attempts to win her second consecutive 400m Olympic gold.
Again lining up against Felix, Miller-Uibo removed any doubt about the winner coming out of the bend with a commanding lead which she held to win in a new personal best of 48.36 seconds. Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic claimed the silver medal with a time of 49.20.
Racing on Miller-Uibo’s outside, the 35-year-old Felix produced a run that belied her years as she finished in third-place to win a record 10th medal becoming the most decorated female Olympian in track and field.
Faith Kipyegon defends women’s 1,500m title
Faith Kipyegon defended her Olympic title in the 1500m. In doing so the mother-of-one registered a new Olympic record of 3:53.11. Great Britain’s Laura Muir won her first major international outdoor medal, passing the Dutch athlete, Sifan Hassan on the final lap, crossing the finish line in a British record time of 3:54.50.
Hassan, who changed tactics to take out the race at a fast pace right from the start, was aiming to claim the top step as part of her distance golden treble attempt. She has already won the 5,000m gold and aim the 10,000 metres gold today, so is still on course for a distance medal treble.
Cheptegei bags 5,000m gold
World record holder Joshua Cheptegei took the gold in the gruelling men’s 5000m final, finishing ahead of Mohammed Ahmed of Canada, who took the silver, and Paul Chelimo of the United States who scooped the bronze.
Cheptegei, with a time of 12 minutes, 58.15, became the first Ugandan to win the event as he bagged the Olympic gold that has eluded him for so long.
Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda was in front of the pack early, but his countryman Cheptegei took over the front spot midway through the race and didn’t let go of it until a six-man pack pushed ahead of the rest to set-up the final push. Cheptegei sealed the gold with a ferocious charge over the last section, with Ahmed nipping second.
The American Chelimo, with his second medal in as many Games, nearly fell at the line to secure bronze in front of Kipkorir Kimeli of Kenya.
Liu Shiying first Asian to win javelin gold
China’s Liu Shiying became the first athlete from an Asian country to win an Olympic gold medal in the women’s javelin.
The 27-year-old produced the standout performance of the event with her first round throw of 66.34m at the Olympic Stadium. It was a season’s best for the 2019 World Championships silver medallist.
Her nearest rival to claim silver was Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk, 25, who threw 64.61m, which was seven metres short of her mammoth 71.40m throw in Croatia earlier this year. In bronze was reigning world champion, Australia’s Kelsey-Lee Barber, 29, who also threw a season’s best of 64.56m.
The upset of the discipline was two-time Olympic champion, Czech Republic’s Barbara Spotakova, failing to progress to the final. On her disappointment, she said: “It was just not my day. I could not do anything with that. It’s very hard if you don’t feel it, if you don’t feel the click which throws the javelin.”
Jamaica reign women’s 4x100m relay
With the Tokyo 100 metres gold, silver and bronze medalists lining up in the same team that Jamaica would win the gold in the 4×100 metres was a foregone conclusion. Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson clocked a Jamaican national record time of 41.02 seconds to win their first Olympic women’s 4x100m title in 17 years. The USA came away with silver in 41.45 and Great Britain took bronze in 41.88. Thompson-Herah will leave this Olympics with three gold medals around her neck after having won the 100 and 200 metres individual golds earlier.
Italy wins first 4x100m relay title
The Italian 4x100m relay quartet of Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta, Eseosa Desalu and Filippo Tortu raced to win their first gold in the event since London 1948.
Lead-off runner Patta handed the baton to Jacobs, who produced a storming run down the back end, with Tortu on the anchor leg crossed the line in a new Italian record of 37.50 seconds. Great Britain, pipped at the line by 0.01s, claimed the silver medal, with Canada bagging bronze, clocking 37.70.
Jacobs will bow out of the Games as a double Olympic gold medallist in the sprint events while Canadian sensation Andre de Grasse won his third medal at Tokyo 2020. De Grasse opened his campaign at the Games with a bronze medal in the 100m final before being crowned Olympic 200m champion.
Great Britain had one hand on their first gold medal in the event since Athens 2004, with Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake gaining a slight lead in the home straight.
But Tortu, on his outside, would not be denied as he produced a blistering anchor for Italy inching ahead to out dip Mitchell-Blake.