Track fans know what they are good at: The Jamaican women are unstoppable at the Olympics, and Sifan Hassan, a tireless runner in all distance races she enters, is always in contention for a medal.
It might take some time to get used to other things: Italy is a power sprinter. It has the gold medal in men’s 4×100 meter relay, which is on top of the 100 meter gold Marcell Jacobs won.
Jacobs was made a double Olympic champion by the Italian relay team Friday. The country managed to pull off a stunning feat to match Jacobs’ solo victory five nights earlier. Jacobs completed the second leg of Italy’s 37.5-second track trip. Filippo Tortu beat Nethaneel Mitchell Blake from Britain to the line.
Tortu, slightly behind at the switchover, took first place for a victory of.01 seconds.
Tortu stated, “We are four Ferraris.”
This victory sparked a second round of celebrations for the Italian sprint on the Olympic Stadium track — two more than was expected at these Games’ opening.
Canada, featuring 200-meter champion Andre De Grasse, took bronze in 37.70. To end three consecutive relay wins for Jamaica, a Jamaican Olympic team without Usain Bolt placed fifth. One was removed due to a doping investigation.
Bolt from Jamaica was once a guarantee of gold. A Jamaican women’s team featuring the three fastest sprinters in the world was the best thing at these Olympics.
After a legal and awkward exchange with Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah was the Tokyo double-sprint champion. She ran the second leg. Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce was the 100 silver medalist. She took the baton. Fraser-Pryce met Shericka Jackson (100 bronze medalist) and Jackson brought the Jamaican women home in 41.02 seconds, a national record. This was not the most surprising performance of the night, but it was still very impressive.
It also brought Thompson-Herah a third gold medal, as she won the 200, 100 and 4×100 relays in Bolt-like fashion.
Fraser-Pryce stated, “We got the national records, Elaine got her 3rd gold medal, and we’re all going back home with a medal so we’re just very thankful for the effort.”
The United States won silver with 41.45, while the U.S. men finished sixth in their qualifying heat after a bad exchange.
Hassan had already kept her medals in long- and middle-distance running with a bronze in 1,500m to go with her gold in the 5,000. She has a lot more to do. She will be chasing a third medal at the 10,000 final Saturday night. This will be her sixth race within eight days.
Ethiopian-born runner who runs for the Netherlands competed in all her races in Tokyo prior to Friday. She ran at the back or close to the back of the field, and then unleashed her speed on the final lap.
She changed her tactics in the 1,500 final, accelerating to the front and pushing the pace hard. It was too much for her. Faith Kipyegon from Kenya sat on Hassan’s shoulders during the last lap, and then made her move at the end. Hassan didn’t reply.
Kipyegon retained her Olympic title and set an Olympic record of 3:54.11 seconds. The silver medal was also won by Laura Muir from Britain.
Hassan said, “I think my body is very tired.” She once more wore a Dutch flag to represent her race. She clarified that her goal for 10,000 is not gold; it’s only a medal.
She held up her bronze, saying “I (just), need this.” “Not gold.”
Allyson Felix also needed a color medal to make it into history at the Tokyo track and field championships on Day 8. The 35-year old American won bronze in the 400m in a romp run by Shaunae Mill-Uibo, Bahamas, who defeated Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic by 0.84 seconds.
Felix is now the most decorated female Olympic track athlete with 10 medals. No. She was just three years away from a difficult pregnancy, which left her questioning if she would ever make it to this point again.
After the race was finished, she lay down on her back, her hands covering her face, but her smile still visible behind them.
She said, “This one’s very different, it’s very unique.” It took a lot of work to get there.
Also available Friday
Joshua Cheptegei, Ugandan, made his decision to attend the Olympics highly profitable with a gold medal in the 5,000 meters and a silver medal in the 10,000. Cheptegei previously stated that he had considered skipping Tokyo following an injury and poor form.
China’s Liu Shiying won the women’s javelin with a throw distance of 66.34 metres.
In what could be the last appearance of the event at the Games, the 50-kilometer race walkers were up in Sapporo at 5.30 am. Dawid Tomala won the gold medal. The Paris 2024 50K Walk has been removed from the Paris schedule. Antonella Palmisano won women’s 20K walking.