By AA Correspondent
Winfred Yavi opened Bahrain’s account in the Olympic Games and thereby provided Asia with its second gold medal in athletics in these championships at the Stade de France on Tuesday (Aug 6).
Zhao Jie kept up the Chinese tradition in women’s hammer throw with the bronze on an exciting, eventful sixth day of athletics action in the Games. The day featured the biggest upset of it all so far with Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic and world champion, being pushed out of the medals bracket in the men’s 1500m final.
The day also saw American Gabrielle Thomas living up to her pre-Games build-up and forecasts by scoring an effortless victory in the women’s 200m while Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou wrote himself into the record books by becoming the first man since the great American Carl Lewis to win back-to-back Olympic long jump titles.
The women’s 3000m steeplechase title was up for grabs among a horde of talented, accomplished runners. Chemutai was the defending champion, Yavi the world champion and Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya the world record holder at 8:44.32. Once the race began it was clear that Chemutai had a strong determination to defend her title while Yavi played the waiting game to perfection, confident perhaps that her finishing kick from about 200 metres out would take her home.
Chemutai kept herself among the leading two or three athletes till around the 1200m-mark and then took command till the last 100 metres where she could not match the pace of Yavi.
Yavi bettered the Olympic record in clocking 8:52.76, Chemutai timed a Ugandan national record of 8:53.34 and 20-year-old Kenyan Faith Cherotich had her second global bronze in a personal best 8:55.15. She had finished third in the World championship in 2023.
In a most competitive steeplechase race, Yavi’s timing was the fourth fastest ever. The top ten clocked sub-9:10. Kaakhstan’s Norah Jeruto was ninth in 9:08.97.
“This is a dream come true,” said Yavi. “I felt good about the race. I believe in myself that I had the finishing speed,” said the 24-year-old Bahraini of Kenyan origin.
In an event which made its Olympic debut only in 2008, it was natural only that timings often would go beyond previously achieved results. Yavi’s mark bettered that of Russian Gulnara Galkina in 2008, the first time the event was introduced in the Olympics.
Camryn Rogers wins hammer gold
Canadian Camryn Rogers won the hammer gold with a best of 76.97m that came in the fifth round. That was in response to American Annette Echikunwoke’s 75.48m in the third. The American who won her first global medal, fouled her fourth and had 73-plus on her last two throws.
China kept up its tradition and added one more medal to its tally of a gold and silver with the bronze won in hammer by Zhao Jie at 74.27m.
The Chinese had won in each of the editions since Zhang Wen won the silver at home in 2008. Zhang herself added a bronze and silver in the next two editions while Wang Zheng had the silver in the last Games.
Twenty-one-year-old Zhao Jie was a finalist at the last World championships and had taken the silver at the last Asian Games.
“To be on that podium and to hear the national anthem is something that I’ve dreamed of for so long,” said Rogers. “That fifth round throw was a do-or-die moment,” she said.
Ingebrigtsen beaten in 1500m
The most dramatic twist to an event came in the men’s 1500m where Ingebrigtsen’s early pace cost him dearly. Many a time in the past he could show his extreme confidence and set the pace as he liked but Tuesday proved suicidal.
Cole Hocker of the US provided the upset in the 1500m where Ingebrigtsen finished without a medal while world champion Josh Kerr of Britain took silver. American Yared Nuguse won the bronze and Ingebrigtsen came fourth.
Hocker returned a new Olympic record and Area record of 3:27.65, Kerr had a personal best and national record of 3:27.79 and Nuguse a personal best 3:27.80. Ingebrigtsen, favourite for the title, returned 3:28.24.
Ingebrigtsen kept up a punishing pace from the start hoping to shake off the others, but he did not succeed in the end. The Norwegian led every segment up to 1400m but the last 100m proved his calculations wrong.
Hocker and Kerr outpaced Ingebrigtsen over the finishing straight while Nuguse also had the scalp of the defending champion in the end.
Hocker did not have a big reputation barring the one at the World indoor championships this year when he took second place. He was sixth at the Tokyo Games but said after the race he was determined to win at Paris.
“That is an unbelievable feeling,” said Hocker. “My performance showed I was capable of running 3:37,” the American added.
Kerr said, “It’s difficult to look back on it now just because it’s been so crazy since the finish line. My ears are gone, my legs are gone. I’m proud of the performance I put out there today.”
Ingebrigtsen said that he felt good and thus pushed the pace a little too hard. “I can only blame myself,” the Norwegian said. ““The others did a great race. This was a risk I was going to take.”
Tentoglou retains title
Tentoglou was unstoppable in the long jump final. The pre-Games favourite lived up to his stature to take the second Olympic gold on the trot with a second-round jump of 8.48m that he could not surpass later though he tried to till the very last.
The 26-year-old Greek who led the season with his European championship mark of 8.65m, his career-best, had an impressive series of 8.27m, 8.48m, 8.24, 8.36, 8.31. With the title decided, and with the roaring approval of the crowd, he went for a better mark on his last jump but fouled it.
“It’s a great achievement,” said Tentoglou. “I am very happy, but very tired. My distance was not bad, not good.”
The Greek had won last year’s World championship after having succeeded in Tokyo three years ago.
Jamaican Wayne Pinnock took his second successive global silver to add to his Budapest effort. Italian Mattia Furlani who led the field after the first round with an 8.34m matched the same distance on his fifth attempt but that was all the 19-year-old could manage on his Olympic debut. He had finished second behind Tentoglou at this year’s European championship.
Chinese Zhang Mingkun (8.07m) and Wang Jianan (8.03m), 2022 World champion, finished seventh and eighth respectively after having shown early promise in the long jump competition.
Sri Lanka had a huge disappointment as its 400m runner Aruna Darshana (PB 44.75s) was disqualified for lane infringement in the semifinals earlier in the day. Qatari Ammar Ismail Yahia Ibrahim could not progress despite a personal best 44.64s as he finished fifth in his heat.
Gabby Thomas was able to make light of a poor start and powered through the final 120 metres of the 200 metres in 21.83s for her first Olympic gold. Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, who had earlier won her country’s first ever Olympic medal, followed that up with the silver behind Thomas in 22.08s. Alfred, like in the 100m, had a better start than her closest rival and led early, but she could not maintain the pace towards the end.
“I’m really in disbelief because having an Olympic gold medal is something in my wildest dreams,” said Thomas. But at the same time, I know how hard I’ve fought for it,’’ she added.
