SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — In a race where every one of the top spots was separated by a hair’s breadth, White Lake native and Lakeland High School graduate Grace Stark finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles Saturday afternoon, just seven hundredths of a second out of a medal spot.
Stark finished in 12.428 seconds, edged out of fourth place by the 12.425 run by the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser.
America’s Masai Russell won a photo finish Saturday in the women’s 100-meter hurdles where the biggest cheer came for Cyrena Samba-Mayela, whose silver medal marks the first of any color for France at the Olympic track meet.
In a close-as-can-be race down the straightaway, Russell finished in 12.33 seconds, but had to wait another 15 seconds to learn she had beaten the Frenchwoman by .01.
Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who competes for Puerto Rico, was another .02 back for bronze.
No cheers were louder than those for Samba-Mayela, who broke a shutout for the host country on the last day of action at the Stade de France.
Masai Russell, of the United States, celebrates winning the women’s 100-meter hurdles final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
The stadium has been packed all nine nights, cheering for sports stars from the United States, Kenya, Norway and all corners of the globe.
Still, the biggest cheer for a French athlete up to this point came for a swimmer, Léon Marchand, who won a gold medal in the pool on the opening night of the track meet, prompting race officials to ask for quiet while a crowd watching on tablets and phones went crazy.
Now, Samba-Mayela gave them a moment to cheer for someone in person. It’s a nice break for a country with a rich track tradition, producing Olympic champions such as Marie-José Pérec and Renaud Lavillenie. Even with this medal, France remains without an Olympic gold on the track since Lavillenie won the pole vault in 2012.
A two-time state champion in the event at Lakeland High School — and still the MHSAA finals record-holder — Stark (12.72) finished behind Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent (12.65) and the Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton (12.71) in Tuesday’s preliminary heat to advance. She won her semifinal heat Friday with a mark of 12.39, passing the finish line ahead of Charlton (12.50), as well as Nigerian world record holder Tobi Amusan, who missed out on qualifying for Saturday.
The third American competing Saturday, Alaysha Johnson, matched Stark’s personal best of 12.31 back at the US qualifiers for Paris, but struggled in Saturday’s race, taking seventh place with a time of 12.93.
McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas romp to relay win, give US 34th track medal
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas teamed up for America’s 14th gold and 34th overall medal at the track Saturday, wrapping up the Olympic action at the Stade de France with a 4.23-second runaway in the women’s 4×400 relay.
The gold medalists in the 400 hurdles and 200 meters took care of legs two and three for the United States, handing a 30-meter lead to Alexis Holmes, who didn’t lose any ground.
The U.S. finished in 3 minutes, 15.27 seconds, only .1 short of the world record.
The 34 track medals were the most for the U.S. at a non-boycotted Games since the early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries, and the 14 golds are the most in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1968.
Benjamin of US holds off Tebogo of Botswana to win men’s 4×400 relay
Rai Benjamin held off Letsile Tebogo on the anchor leg to give the United States a gold medal and an Olympic-record time in the men’s 4×400-meter relay at the Paris Games on Saturday night.
Benjamin added this Olympic title to the one he claimed in the 400-meter hurdles a night earlier and prevented 200-meter champion Tebogo from giving Botswana another triumph over the Americans.
It was Tebogo, the 21-year-old sprinting sensation, who stole the spotlight — and the gold — from the U.S. in the 200 on Thursday, relegating Kenny Bednarek to silver and Noah Lyles, who tested positive for COVID-19, to bronze.
Wanyonyi of Kenya wins men’s 800 in another race decided by .01 second
In a speedy men’s 800 Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi beat Canada’s Marco Arop by .01 seconds in a photo finish, finishing in 1:41.19, only .28 off the world record.
American Bryce Hoppel’s national record of 1:41.67 was only good for fourth.
Ingebrigtsen gets a win, this one in the 5,000
Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000 meters in a relatively drama-free race after much-hyped 1,500 four nights earlier against Britain’s Josh Kerr turned into a disappointing fourth -place finish.
“When you hit a wall, and don’t perform the way you want to, it’s very difficult,” said Ingebrigtsen, a 23-year-old from Norway. “But … I got another shot. I just had to make the most of it.”
He did just that, completing the 12 1/2 laps around the Stade de France’s purple track in 13 minutes, 13.66 seconds — 1.38 seconds faster than silver medalist Ronald Kwemoi of Kenya — to add this title to wins at the last two world championships.
Grant Fisher of the U.S. (Grand Blanc) was third in 13:15.13, giving him his second bronze of the 2024 Olympics, to go with the one he picked up in the 10,000 on Aug. 2.
Tola wins men’s marathon to end Kenya dominance
Ethiopian runner Tamirat Tola won the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics on Saturday to end Kenya’s dominance of the race.
Tola finished in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds, with Belgium’s Bashir Abdi finishing 21 seconds behind and Benson Kipruto taking bronze for Kenya, 34 seconds back.
The 32-year-old Tola looked back as he neared the line, but he was well clear and had time to soak up the applause. Two weeks ago, he entered the Olympic marathon as a substitute for injured teammate Sisay Lemma.
“I was the reserve in the Ethiopian team, but when Sisay had injuries then I had a chance,” Tola said. “I was fully prepared and knew I could fulfill my dream. I am very proud, very happy.”
Italy’s Battocletti breaks Africa’s stranglehold on 10,000-meter with silver
For three straight Olympics, nobody born outside of Africa had even come close to finishing on the podium in the women’s 10,000 meters.
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti put an end to that streak Friday night at the Paris Games, claiming silver in an event that had come to be dominated by Kenyans, Ethiopians and runners from those countries representing other nations.
Battocletti first served notice of her potential when she swept the 5,000 and the 10,000 at a home European Championships in June. But there were no Africans in Rome.
It was during the 5,000 at these Games, when Battocletti finished fourth, that the Africans realized how competitive she was. Battocletti crossed fourth in that race, then was upgraded to bronze when Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon was disqualified for trading elbows with Gudaf Tsegay before Kipyegon had her bronze restored on appeal.
Originally Published: August 10, 2024 at 3:33 p.m.
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 12:41:00
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