Tokyo Olympics: Gardiner takes 400m crown as James holds on for bronze

By Sports Desk August 05, 2021

Steven Gardiner made it a world and Olympic double by winning the men's 400 metres at Tokyo 2020 on a day where Hansle Parchment shocked Grant Holloway to win the 110m hurdles.

Ryan Crouser defended his shot put title from Rio 2016, while Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Katie Nageotte were also among the gold medal winners at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.

Here's a round-up of Thursday's best action in athletics.

 

GARDINER FOLLOWS UP DOHA TRIUMPH

Defending 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk, who suffered a horrific knee injury in 2017, was not in the final and Gardiner displaced the South African in the Tokyo humidity.

The man from the Bahamas won gold in Doha at the world championships two years ago and timed his race to perfection in the Japanese capital, storming ahead from the final bend and passing the line in a time of 43.85s.

Anthony Zambrano of Colombia was second, while 2012 champion Kirani James added Olympic bronze for Grenada.

Just a night on from Andre De Grasse becoming men's 200m champion, Canada had more reason to celebrate as Damian Warner earned an Olympic record 9,018 points to win the decathlon. Kevin Mayer of France took silver ahead of Australia's Ashley Moloney.

In the heptathlon, Nafissatou Thiam defended her gold from Rio 2016 – the Belgian accruing 6,791 points. Dutch pair Anouk Vetter and Emma Oosterwegel were second and third.

 

PARCHMENT BEATS HOLLOWAY IN HUGE SHOCK

Possibly the biggest shock on the track of Tokyo 2020 so far arrived in the men's 110m hurdles, where world champion and clear favourite for gold Holloway had to settle for silver.

Instead, first place was taken by Jamaica's Parchment, an outsider on paper who stormed through when Holloway's momentum appeared to stall at the last two hurdles to win in a time of 13.04 seconds.

There was further upset for Team USA in the men's 4x100m relay, where a shock sixth-placed finish in their heat meant they missed out on the final.

Massimo Stano was a surprise winner of the men's 20km walk race, a strong finish seeing him beat well-fancied Japanese duo Koki Ikeda and Toshikazu Yamanishi.

With his victory, Italy have won three athletics gold medals at the same Games for the first time.

CROUSER LIVES UP TO THE BILLING IN AN OLYMPICS QUIRK

Crouser lived up to his billing as favourite in the men's shot put and in some style to defend his title from Rio 2016.

The American equalled or bettered his previous Olympic record with each of his six throws, with the winning distance marked at 22.93m.

World Champion and countryman Joe Kovacs took silver, while New Zealand's Tom Walsh was third. Incredibly, this was the exact same podium as at Rio 2016 – the first time in Olympics athletics to have the exact same repeat of a podium.

Pichardo was equally brilliant in taking home the men's triple jump gold. His effort of 17.98m represents the second-best winning jump in Olympics history and was personal redemption for the Portuguese, who missed out in Rio five years ago.

China's Zhu Yaming earned silver with a lifetime-best jump of 17.57, with Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso in third.

Nageotte earned a nice piece of history in winning women's pole vault gold for the United States. No woman or man has ever missed with their opening two attempts and gone on to win Olympic gold.

But Nageotte cleared 4.90m, a height no one else in the competition could match. Anzhelika Sidorova – the 2019 world champion – claimed silver for the Russia Olympic Committee, with Holly Bradshaw of the United Kingdom taking bronze.

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    Brianna Lyston secured a chance at the sprint double at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida after booking her spot in the final of the women’s 100m.

    The LSU sophomore, who ran 22.31 on Thursday to secure her spot in the 200m final, came back a day later to run 11.09 to be the joint-fastest qualifier for Saturday’s final alongside collegiate leader Jacious Sears of Tennessee.

    Bahamian Florida junior Wanya McCoy and Jamaican Georgia freshman Jehlani Gordon advanced to the men’s 100m final as the second and ninth fastest qualifiers with 10.09 and 10.17, respectively.

    The women’s 400m prelims saw Arkansas senior Nickisha Pryce become the eighth-fastest Jamaican ever in the event.

    Pryce, who is Jamaica’s reigning national champion, ran a personal best and collegiate leading 49.72 to advance to the final as the fastest qualifier ahead of teammate Kaylyn Brown who ran 49.86.

    LSU sophomore Jahiem Stern produced 13.45 to advance to the final of the 110m hurdles.

    In the field, the Jamaican Arkansas pair of Romaine Beckford and Wayne Pinnock won gold in the high jump and long jump, respectively.

    Beckford had a best clearance of 2.22m to win ahead of LSU’s Kuda Chadenga (2.19m) and Ole Miss’s Arvesta Troupe (2.14m).

    Pinnock, a sliver medalist at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, jumped 8.09m to successfully defend his SEC title.

    Georgia’s Micah Larry produced 7.80m for second while Florida’s Caleb Foster was third with the same distance.

     

     

  • Lawrence produces personal best to win shot put at ACC Outdoor Championships Lawrence produces personal best to win shot put at ACC Outdoor Championships

    Jamaican Clemson junior Courtney Lawrence produced a personal best 19.75 to win shot put gold at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Atlanta on Friday.

    The former Petersfield High standout and 2021 NACAC Under-23 champion produced three throws over 19m throughout his series to take the title ahead of Notre Dame’s Michael Schoaf (19.38m) and Wake Forest’s Thomas Kitchell (19.16m).

    Jamaican Florida State sophomore Jordan Turner jumped 7.90m for second in the men’s long jump behind teammate Jeremiah Davis who jumped 7.97m for the win. Miami’s Russell Robinson was third with 7.82m.

    Moving to the track where Lawrence’s schoolmate, Oneka Wilson, produced a personal best 13.00 to advance to the final of the women’s 100m hurdles as the fastest qualifier.

    Another Jamaican Clemson standout, senior Tarees Rhoden, made it through to the final of the men's 800m with a 1:49.17 effort to finish second in his heat.

  • Bahamian Gardiner, Ja's McLeod register wins as Grenada's Peters cops third in men's javelin throw in Doha Bahamian Gardiner, Ja's McLeod register wins as Grenada's Peters cops third in men's javelin throw in Doha

    Bahamian 400m Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner, and Jamaica’s World Championships long jump finalist Carey McLeod, stood out among the Caribbean performances as they topped their respective events at the Wanda Diamond League in Doha, Qatar on Friday.

    McLeod, who was fourth at the Xiamen meet, displayed mark improvement on this occasion to top the event with a wind-aided leap of 8.52m. He recovered from a failed attempt at the start to cut the sand at 8.14m, before achieving the winning leap on his fourth attempt in a positive 5.2 metres per second wind reading.

    The 26-year-old topped a stacked field which included Greece’s Olympic and World champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, who had to settle for second on this occasion with a season’s best leap of 8.36m. Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (8.30m), was third, while Jamaica’s 2019 World champion Tajay Gayle (8.01m) was fifth, and Bahamian LaQuan Nairn (7.59m) eighth.

    For Gardiner, it was a case of picking up where he left off, as he continued his rich early season form in the 400m with another classy display. He went out hard from lane five and quickly covered rivals on the outside at the 250m mark, before pulling away in the latter stages to win in 44.76s.

    Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga, closed fast for second in a season’s best 45.07s, while Botswana’s Leungo Scotch (45.29s) was third.

    Also in the field, Grenada’s two-time World champion Anderson Peters placed third in an intriguing men’s javelin throw, which saw India’s World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra beaten into second.

    Czech Republic’s Olympic silver medallist and last year’s Diamond League winner Jakub Vadlejch (88.38m) outlasted his Indian rival, who fell just short with a throw of 88.36m, while Peters’ best mark of 86.62m came on his final attempt. All three men hit season’s best marks.

    Meanwhile, in arguably the performance of the night, Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos romped the men’s 400m hurdles event in a breathtaking World Lead and Meet Record 46.86s. He bettered his previous Meet Record of 47.24s set in 2022, while reaffirming his status as one of only five men to break the 47-second barrier in the event.

    Elsewhere on the track, Jamaican Natoya Goule-Toppin attempted a late rally in the women’s 800m, but she had to settle for sixth in a season’s best 1:59.74.

    The event was won by Kenya’s world champion and 2022 Diamond League winner Mary Moraa, who kicked off 2024 campaign with a season’s best 1:57.91, just lowering the 1:57.96 she clocked a few weeks ago at the Kip Keino Classic on home soil.

    Britain’s world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie (1:58.42) was second, while Benin’s Noelie Yarigo, the indoor bronze medallist, placed third in a season’s best 1:58.70.

    In the men’s 200m, Jamaican Oshane Hudson clocked a season’s best 20.53s, which was only good enough for seventh, as American Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek threw down the gauntlet where his Olympic title ambitions are concerned.

    Bednarek clocked a personal best and World Leading 19.67s to win the half-lap event in a positive 1.7 metres per second wind reading, and also smashed Noah Lyles’ previous Meet Record of 19.83, set in 2018. His compatriots Courtney Lindsey (20.01s), the previous world leader, and Kyree King (20.21s) were the runners-up.

    The women’s 100m was won by Britain’s Daryll Neita, who followed up her 200m in Suzhou with another strong performance on her seasonal bow in the event. She closed fast to win in a season’s best 10.98s, ahead of the American pair of Tamari Davis (10.99s) and Celera Barnes (11.02s) in a blanket finish.

    Jamaica’s Natasha Morrison was seventh in a season’s best 11.37s.

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