Olympic Track And Field Live Updates And Results: Aug. 3 Evening Session
Olympic Track And Field Live Updates And Results: Aug. 3 Evening Session
We are back with another session of live updates from the Paris Olympics. Saturday's evening session will feature four finals and the end of the decathlon.
The second full day of track and field at the Paris Olympics is upon us.
If yesterday's sessions were of any indication, we're in for another treat. Today's evening session will bring us four finals, including the mixed 4x400 relay, the men's shot put, the women's triple jump and the women's 100 meters.
We'll also close down the decathlon, with the 10th and final event of the discipline, the men's 1,500m, set to decide the podium.
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Before the women's 100 meter final, however, we'll have to figure things out in the semis and that is already shaping up to be a incredible storyline.
The second section will feature Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred and American Sha'Carri Richardson.
Stay tuned for live updates of today's evening session.
2024 Olympic Track And Field Live Updates, Saturday, Aug. 3 -- P.M. Session
12:31 p.m. PM CST -- The Men's 1,500m Repechage Round:
The semifinal fields are now official. After two extra rounds, we have our six repechage qualifiers across two sections.
The first heat was a flurry of action over the final 400 meters, and it ultimately came down to critical moves over the final straightaway. Ireland's Cathal Doyle won the heat in 3:34.92, while France's Azeddine Habz was second in 3:35.10.
Italy's Ossama Meslek was the surprise hit. Facing a huge deficit with 200 meters to go, he went from seventh to third after charging hard over the final 50 meters. He held off one final push from South Africa's Tshepo Thsite to claim the third and final spot out of the section in 3:35.35.
In section two, again, a flurry over the final 400 meters. South Africa's Ryan Mphahlele does all the early work through 1,209 meters, but the strategy does not work to his advantage with 250 meters to go.
Australia's Olli Hoare, racing much better than his first round, tries to hold on, but after putting himself in a quality position to begin, he feels the heat of the field on him with 200 meters to go.
Italy's Federico Riva, Canada's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot and Great Britain's George Mills make their final moves toward the finish and pass Hoare on their way, solidifying their spots in the final.
Riva wins the heat in 3:32.84, Philibert-Thiboutot is second in 3:33.53 and Mills is third in 3:33.56. Hoare falls to fifth in 3:34.00 and his Olympics are now over.
12:35 p.m. CST -- The Men's Shot Put Final: The broadcast brings out the shot put men for their walk-out. All pretty standard until Ryan Crouser.
The World record-holder goes to his knees and plants his elbow on his leg, his hand cupping his head. The thinking man? as John Anderson wondered aloud. Possibly. Possibly this is Crouser telling us he's got depth.
12:50 p.m. CST -- The Women's 100m Semifinals:
Heat 1 -- Melissa Jefferson, please stand up!
The American sprinter and former Coastal Carolina star punched her ticket to the final with a career performance (until the final, at least), clocking a time of 10.99 seconds in a pressure-packed situation.
She'll be joined by Ivory Coast's Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, who made up ground over the final meters and crossed the line in 11.01. Those two women are the only auto qualifiers out of the heats.
Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji will now have to wait and see if her 11.05 will be good enough to place her in the final. Poland's Ewa Swoboda was fourth in 11.08.
Heat 2 --
BREAKING NEWS: Jamaican star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is reportedly out for her semifinal leg here in heat 2. We will have more on FloTrack shortly.
Heat 2
St. Lucia's Julien Alfred looked strong! She took the top spot in 10.84. American Sha'Carri Richardson finished second in 1.89.
Heat 3
Jamaica's Tia Clayton exploded out of the blocks and took a commanding victory in 19.89. All three American women are through to the Final. Daryll Neita got the final auto Q in 10.97.
American Twanisha Terry took third in the heat (11.07) but grabbed one of the two time qualifier spots.
All three American women advanced to the Final.
Mujinga Kambundji's time in Heat 1 was good enough to earn a time qualifier spot.
1:28 PM CST - Men's Shot Put Final
In the Men's Shot Put Final, Ryan Crouser has the lead through three throws. Crouser's 22.90 is a Season Best. Fellow Americans Payton Otterdahl (22.01) and Joe Kovacs (21.71) sit in second and third respectively.
Rajindra Campbell of Jamaica is in second.
Crouser's 22.90m toss is good for his third consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Fellow American and two-time world champion Joe Kovacs takes the silver for the third consecutive Games with his 22.15m throw, which eclipsed Jamaica's Rajindra Campbell's 22.15m via tiebreaker. Campbell took bronze with U.S.A.'s Payton Otterdahl finishing fourth in 22.03m to complete a 1-2-4 finish for Team USA.
2:00 p.m. CST -- Mixed 4x400 Final
Femke Bol, anyone!
The Dutch superstar was the main substitution here for the Netherlands, while the American coaching staff did not make any changes in the final.
It ultimately mattered.
The U.S. contingent went with the same starting lineup from Friday -- Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown -- and was not able to secure the win for the second straight Olympics, falling to second as Bol made up swaths of ground over the final straightaway and brought it home for the Netherlands, which won in 3:07.43.
The time did not re-set the world record which the U.S. team commanded on Friday in 3:07.41, but it was agonizingly close and set a new Netherlands national record.
Bol was electric over her final carry, ushering her team home in a ridiculous split of 47.93 seconds. With an incredible final leg like that, it erased Brown's work and a final carry of 49.14, giving the U.S. a finish of 3:07.74.
The U.S. was third in the mixed relay three years ago in Tokyo, finishing in 3:10.22.
Great Britain was third on Saturday in 3:08.81. Amber Anning -- Brown's teammate at Arkansas in 2024 -- ran a final leg of 48.81.
2:20 p.m. CST -- Women's 100m Final
Julien Alfred dominates to win Olympic 100m gold!
Alfred becomes the first Olympic medalist ever from the small Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, and the Texas alum did so with an electric middle portion of the race that prevented anyone from challenging her. Her 10.72 is a national record, and it far eclipsed silver medalist Sha'Carri Richardson's 10.87.
The American reigning world champion could never recover from a lackluster start to catch Alfred, who celebrated across the line as a light rain fell on the Stade de France in Paris. The NBC feed cut to a celebratory watch party in Saint Lucia after Alfred had secured gold, and the new fastest woman in the world is sure to return home a national hero in the coming weeks.
Melissa Jefferson completed the 2-3 finish for the Americans as she took bronze in 10.92. This is the first time since 1996 that the American women have won two medals in the 100m.
2:45 p.m. CST -- Men's 1500m Decathlon
22-year-old Markus Rooth of Norway is the Olympic decathlon champion. Rooth becomes the first Norwegian to win Olympic gold in the 10-event competition since 1920.
Rooth notched a national record 8,796 points to win gold narrowly over Germany's Leo Neugebauer, who scored 8,748 points for silver. Lindon Victor of Grenada took bronze with 8,711 points.
This event was thrown into a frenzy earlier on Saturday as defending Olympic champion Damien Warner of Canada recorded no height in the pole vault and bowed out of the competition afterwards.
That left the door open for Rooth, who only managed eighth place in last year's World Championships in Budapest. The young Norwegian trailed Neugebauer by 139 points after eight events, but a 66.87m PB from Rooth combined with a meager 56.64m effort from the German in the javelin put the eventual gold medalist in pole position heading into the grueling 1500m.
Needing just to beat Neugebauer to the line to secure gold, Rooth did so with relative ease in 4:39.56. (That was good for 11th in the 1500m race, while Neugebauer finished well back in 4:41.67 for 16th; Germany's Niklas Kaul won the 1500m in 4:15.00).
Two Americans finished in the top 10 as Harrison Williams took seventh with 8,538 points and U.S. champion Heath Baldwin was 10th with 8,422 points.
3:27 p.m. CST -- Women's Triple Jump Final
It was a historic day for small Caribbean countries at the Olympic Games as Thea Lafond of Dominica (population est. 72,000) leapt to a 15.02m national record to secure gold in the women's triple jump.
Lafond has put together a dream 2024 campaign as she followed up her world indoor title in March with a gold in Paris. The 30-year-old took advantage of an Olympic year without world record holder and reigning Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela, who tore her Achilles in April.
Rounding out the podium was Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica (14.87m) for silver and American Jasmine Moore with bronze (14.67m).
When Are The Paris 2024 Olympic Games?
The Olympics begin on July 26 and end on August 11. The track and field events will began on Aug. 1.
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