Athletics at 2024 Olympics: Kerr wins high jump gold in Tampere drama

New Zealand's Hamish Kerr won the high jump gold at the Paris Olympics. Tokyo Olympic champion Gianmarco left Tampere empty-handed on Saturday (August 10, 2024), weakened by renal colic. In the end, the American relay team won the 4x400m. Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000m and there was an Olympic record in the women's 1,500m.

The photos taken three years ago in Tokyo are unforgettable: Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim leapt 2.37 metres in the high jump final – and then agreed to make history together as Olympic champions. They celebrated this special golden moment hand in hand.

After Tampere, who was suffering from renal colic, was unable to compete in the medal race this year, and Barshim had to settle for bronze, New Zealand's Hamish Kerr and American Shelby McEwen could have followed suit: both cleared second place 36m with the same number of failed attempts.

But they decided to skip it and not celebrate together. Only one of them would become an Olympic champion. In the end, Kerr succeeded, who – unlike McEwen – jumped 2.34 metres on his first attempt. Former European vice-champion Tobias Botte (Munich) was eliminated in the heats.

After Tokyo gold, Tampere faces 'nightmare' in Paris

Tampere had already announced his kidney pain a few days earlier. A few hours before the high jump final, he posted on social media that he was not feeling well at all. He wrote about the pain and the “nightmare” he was living. However, he started at the Stade de France. There, he seemed to pull himself together considerably, but in the end without any sporting success.

He missed the initial height of 2.17m, and at 2.22m he needed a third attempt to stay in contention. However, the early exit was only postponed: at 2.27m he broke three times – and, finishing 11th in the standings, sought solace from his coach and team in the stands, completely disappointed and sad.

4x400m: US relay teams dominate

In the Olympic athletics final at the stadium – only the women's marathon is on the programme on Sunday (August 11, 2024, 8 a.m., live on Sportschau.de) – the USA won the gold medals in both events. The men's 4x400m relay finals were won by the men's quartet in an Olympic record time of 2:54.43 minutes, just ahead of Botswana (2:54.53) and Great Britain (2:55.83). Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles did not start after contracting the coronavirus; the US team consisted of Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Dedmon and Ray Benjamin. The relay finalist had already won the individual gold medal in the 400m hurdles the day before.

Shamir Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levron, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes made a clear run to victory in the women’s relay for the USA – and they were just a tenth of a second off the world record: after 3:15.27, they were more than four seconds ahead of the Netherlands (3:19.50). After a strong finish from last-place finisher Femke Bohl, Great Britain were left with only the bronze medal (3:19.72). The German 4x400m relay team was eliminated in the heats. DLV runners surprisingly won the bronze medal in the 4x100m on Friday (August 9, 2024).

5000m: Ingebrigtsen runs away from everyone

After surprisingly failing to medal in his own race over 1,500 metres, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen took impressive revenge in the 5,000 metres: the world and European champion picked up the pace a few hundred metres before the finish and decisively escaped the competition.

In a season’s best time of 13:13.66, the 23-year-old claimed Olympic gold at the distance for the first time. Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi (13:15.04) was second, while the bronze went to Grant Fisher of the United States (13:15.13). The rising Ethiopian trio came out of the final empty-handed. The German runners were not nominated for the 5,000m in Paris.

Women's 1500m: Faith Kipyegon's Olympic record

After Olympic victories in Rio and Tokyo, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon completed the first women’s 1,500m gold hat-trick: in the final at the Stade de France, she picked up the pace on the final corner and pulled clear of her rivals. In an Olympic record time of 3:51.29, the 30-year-old finished 10 metres ahead of Australian Jessica Hall and Great Britain’s Georgia Bell, who took silver and bronze. Kipyegon had previously won silver in the 5,000m in Paris.

Men's 800m: Gold for Kenyan Wanyonyi

The men's Olympic 800m final was very close: 20-year-old world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya crossed the finish line first with a strong final sprint in 1:41.19 minutes (a personal best). – This is where he was one-hundredth of a second ahead of Canadian world champion Marco Arop.

Over time, Wanyonyi is now the third-fastest 800m runner in history, trailing compatriot David Rudisha's world record (1:40.91) by just 28 one-hundredths of a second.

Doping appears to be suspected against bronze medalist Sedjati.

The bronze went to Jamal Sedjati (1:41.50). The Algerian team is undefeated so far this season and is now the fourth fastest runner in the history of the 800m. There were no German runners at the start of this route in Paris.

After the final it became known that there was apparently a doping suspicion against Sedjati and his coach Amar Benida. In any case, anti-doping gendarmerie checks were carried out in the Olympic Village on Thursday (August 8, 2024). AFP learned this from investigators and thus confirmed the report by L'Equipe.

100m Hurdles: Preferred Winner Masai Russell

Masai Russell started the 110m hurdles final as the fastest in the world this year (12.25sec at the US trials in Eugene in June) – and she lived up to her role as narrow favourite. The 24-year-old American won in 12.33sec, ahead of France’s Serena Samba-Maela (12.34sec) and Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Coen (12.36sec), who were both cheered on by the Stade de France crowd. Russell had been knocked out in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Budapest a year ago. There were no German athletes in Paris here, too.

Javelin Throw: Japan's Kitaguchi Wins

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi, 26, was crowned Olympic champion in the women's javelin. With a season's best of 65.80m, the world champion was almost two metres ahead of silver medallist Jo-Ann van Dijk of South Africa (63.93) and Nikola Ogrodnikova of the Czech Republic (63.68). For favourite Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado (Colombia) it was only enough for fifth place. Christine Hussong of Zweibrücken did not reach the final and was eliminated in the heats.