By K. P. Mohan
On a sensational day of athletics at the Olympic Stadium, Asia took its first gold medal through Chinese shot putter Gong Lijiao, and shared the high jump gold with Italy as Mutaz Essa Barshim tied with Italian Gianmarco Tamberi as Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas posted a world record in women’s triple jump on Sunday.
In an action-packed day bereft of spectators bar team-mates and officials, because of the pandemic restrictions, China and Asia could have finished with another success had not sprinter Su Bingtian been done in by a poor start that never allowed him to come back into the 100-metre dash won by Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs.
With Tamberi sharing the gold with Barshim in high jump it was a day to remember for Italian athletics with Jacobs adding an unexpected gold in the 100 metres in a personal best 9.80s which is a European record.
The day started off with Gong Lijiao’s shot put gold. The 32-year-old Chinese had come through three previous Olympics without the gold though she had a silver and a bronze to show, and today was the day to add to her collection with the Olympic champion title that mattered.
Gong Lijiao did that in great style posting personal bests of 20.53m and 20.58m in the last two throws of the final, living up the tag of favourite in this competition.
Barshim also was flawless in a top-class high jump competition in which the top five cleared 2.35m. Barshim and Tamberi went through to 2.35m with a clean record at previous heights and it was always on the cards that they might tie for the top place with the countback likely to prove futile in separating the two. They both cleared 2.37m and both failed thrice at 2.39m. Countback showed the same record for both, every previous height at first attempt.
The gold was shared for the first time in Olympic high jumping history without a jump-off being resorted to as is allowed if technical officials decide not to enforce the rule. Barshim and Tamberi met with an official and it was apparently decided not to go for a jump-off.
Barshim breaks down
Barshim broke down near the railings as team-mates and officials hugged him and wrapped him around with the Qatari flag. Tamberi, delirious that he was an Olympic champion, rolled and cried on the track. Moments of sheer drama that a packed house, if in attendance, would have acknowledged and applauded.
With two World championships gold medals and two silver medals from the last two Olympics behind him, Barshim was one of the favourites today for the gold. He was overcome with emotion at the end, having come back from injury in 2019 to win the world title in Doha and yet unsure whether this was going to be his Olympic champion moment till the last jump by the Italian at 2.39m.
Tamberi had come into the competition ahead of Barshim, with a 2.33 for third place at the Golden Gala meeting at Florence. Barshim had cleared 2.30 on three different occasions this season but showed his class in a big championship once again by sailing over effortlessly up to 2.37m, the height at which he took the world title in 2019. Barshim is the Asian record holder at 2.43m, the second best man in history behind world record holder Cuban Javier Sotomayor (2.45m).
Belarus’s Maksim Nedasekau also cleared 2.37m but on his second attempt. He had a failure earlier at 2.19m. Korean Woo Sang-Hyeok had a national record of 2.35m at fourth place. He failed once at 2.37m, passed next and failed again twice at 2.39m. It was a great moment for the 25-year-old Korean, a former World Youth champion, whose previous best was 2.31m this season.
Rojas recorded a world record 15.67m on her last jump in the triple jump competition, bettering 1995 mark of 15.50m by Inessa Kravets of Ukraine at the World championships in Gothenburg.
“I am lost for words; I can’t describe this feeling and this moment,” said Rojas, “Gold medal winner, with an Olympic record, and a world record, wow. It is a fantastic night.
“I was looking for it (world record), I knew we had that distance in my legs today,” she added.
Su Bingtian produced the surprise of the 100m semi-finals by clocking an Asian record of 9.83s, bettering Qatari Femi Ogunode’s six-year-old record of 9.91s, set in the Asian Championships in Wuhan, China. Su Bingtian could have been expected to at least take a medal in a final that began with a false start, probably inducing the worst start among all the runners as it finally took off. He finished sixth in 9.98s, unable to catch up after he fell behind at around the 20-metre mark itself. Ogunode failed in the semi-finals earlier in the evening session.
Fred Kerley of the United States, off to a brilliant start, had the silver at 9.84s and Andre De Grasse of Canada third at 9.89s. The top three clocked personal bests.
Chinese Wang Zheng was through to the women’s hammer throw final with an effort of 74.29m, second behind world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland (76.99m)
Saudi Arabian Mazem Moutan Al Yassin with a personal best of 45.16s went through the 400m qualification while Aberrehman Samba of Qatar also was through to the men’s 400m hurdles final with a season best 47.47s.
Uzbek Darya Reznichenko (6.19m) was eliminated in the women’s long jump qualifying stage.
