SportsOlympics

Actions

Track & Field Day 2: Thompson-Herah record leads Jamaican 100m sweep

Posted at 3:37 AM, Jul 31, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-31 15:32:15-04

Day 2 of track and field at the Tokyo Olympics was Saturday in Japan, or Friday night into Saturday morning stateside.

There were finals in the women's 100m final, mixed 4x400m relay and men's discus throw.

Other notable events included: women's 800m semifinals; first rounds in the women's 400m hurdles, men's 100m, women's 100m hurdles and men's 800m; and qualifying in men's pole vault and women's discus; and more.

Women's 400m Hurdles

1st Round (8pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Reigning world champion Dalilah Muhammad and world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin of the United States, as well as European indoor champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands all won their respective heats in 53.97, 54.65 and 54.43 to advance to the semifinals.

Ukrainian Anna Ryzhykova won heat two, finishing as the third-fastest overall — among the top four, ahead of McLaughlin.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: Muhammad clocks fastest 400m hurdles prelim of first round

Women's Discus

Qualifying (8:30pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Two-time defending Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic topped group A with 63.75m, while American record-holder Valarie Allman – who entered with the world No. 2 mark this year, a 70.01m from U.S. Olympic Trials – hurled 66.42m on her first attempt in group B easily meet the automatic standard. India's Kamalpreet Kaur was second-best overall, ahead of Perkovic, with 64.00m.

Men's Pole Vault

Qualifying (8:40pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

World record-holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, defending Olympic champion Thiago Braz of Brazil, former world record-holder and 2012 Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie of France and the two Americans – Chris Nilsen and KC Lightfoot – all made it through to the final.

Nilsen was perfect on clearances, while Lavillenie had three misses, Braz two and Duplantis and Lightfoot one apiece.

Missing the from the field was two-time reigning world champion Sam Kendricks, who tested positive for COVID-19.

"It's so sad because Sam was in really good shape and he always jumps high at championships, so basically there is a medal spot free now," Duplantis told Reuters.

Men's 800m

1st Round (8:50pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Kenyan Ferguson Rotich, the 2019 world bronze medalist, won his 800m prelim in 1:43.75 – not only the top qualifying time of the Tokyo Games' first round but the fastest time ever at the Olympics outside of a final, per World Athletics.

His efforts were extremely beneficial for the others in the heat, helping the next three join him in posting top four overall first-round times. Among them Australia's Peter Bol, who clocked an Oceanian record of 1:44.13 to finish second in the heat and overall.

It was the first initial 800m round since the 2008 Beijing Games that didn't include world record-holder David Rudisha. Also missing was the event's reigning world champion, American record-holder Donavan Brazier, who didn't make the team at U.S. Trials.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: American Clayton Murphy closes strong for 800m heat victory

Women's 100m Hurdles

1st Round (9:45pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

World leader Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won heat five in 12.41, the fastest overall time of the round by more than a tenth of a second. Per World Athletics, just three Olympic finals in 1988, 2004 and 2012 have been won in quicker times. The Puerto Rican clocked 12.32 in April.

American Keni Harrison, the event's world record-holder, cruised to victory in 12.74 to win heat two. Her two compatriots Christina Clemons and Gabbi Cunningham also advanced. The U.S. swept the 2016 Rio Games podium in this event.

(MORE)

Men's 100m

Prelim Round (10:35pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

After the event's preliminary round, unique to the 100m for athletes who've yet to achieve the Olympic standard, the men's first-round heats get underway about eight hours later.

1st Round (6:45aET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Canadian Andre De Grasse, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, was the fastest overall semifinal qualifier in 9.91.

World-leader Trayvon Bromell of the U.S. surprising took fourth in his heat and had to sweat it out and advance on time, which he did.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: Bromell 4th, De Grasse wins, Aussie upsets in 100m prelims

Men's Long Jump

Qualifying (6:10aET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Cuba's Juan Miguel Echevarria opened up with an 8.50m leap to make the final, a mark that would've won that last three Olympic finals. The 22-year-old was the bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and world indoor champion in 2018.

World leader Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece was the second-best overall qualifier with 8.22m. He was 10th in Doha.

Jamaica's Tajay Gayle initially appeared to have been injured, but came back for a final jump and qualified with 8.14m.

American JuVaughn Harrison, attempting the high-long jump double, jumped 8.10m to finish fifth overall in qualifying and advance.

(MORE)

Women's 100m

Semifinals (6:15pET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Defending Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica galloped through the line to take semifinal one in 19.76 for the sixth-fastest time run this year, looking like she had plenty left in the tank. Swiss sprinter Ajla del Ponte got the other auto-qualifier in second.

Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou beat Jamaican Shericka Jackson to line in a photo-finish in semifinal two, winning by three milliseconds.

And reigning world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica clocked 10.73 to win semifinal three with ease, the fifth-fastest time run by a woman this year at the distance.

Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith did not make the final and later pulled out of the Games entirely citing a hamstring issue.

Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria was absent from the round because after winning heat six of the prelims she was subsequently handed a provisional suspension after a positive test for human growth hormone.

(MORE)

Final (8:50aET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah successfully defends her Olympic gold by breaking Florence Griffith Joyner's Games record in 10.61, moving to No. 2 all-time with the joint-second fastest women's time ever run at the distance.

Compatriots Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson finish second and third for silver and bronze and a Jamaican podium sweep.

Entering the Games there had been just five sub-10.80 women's 100m times ever recorded at the Olympics, per World Athletics. After the Tokyo Olympics, there have now been 13.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: Thompson-Herah defends Olympic 100m gold in Jamaican sweep

Men's Discus

Final (7:15aET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

 

Reigning world champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden won the first field event gold of the Tokyo Olympics on a 68.90m throw, and he was joined on the podium by compatriot Simon Pettersson, who won silver with 67.39m.

Lukas Weisshaidinger took bronze to earn Austria its first Olympic medal in a men's track and field event, per World Athletics.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: 'Swedish Viking' Stahl celebrates discus gold medal win

Women's 800m

Semifinals (7:50aET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

World-leader Athing Mu, 19, won her semifinal in 1:58.07 to make the final. Her teammate, American record-holder Ajee Wilson, didn't.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: USA's Athing Mu wins 800m semifinal heat

Mixed 4x400m Relay

Final (8:35aET)

RESULTS | REPLAY

Poland won the first Olympic mixed 4x400m relay gold. The Dominican Republic held off the U.S. by 0.01 to take silver.

The U.S. team, which earned bronze, was initially disqualified in the prelims but later reinstated on appeal.

Allyson Felix was not entered and didn't compete.

(MORE)

SEE MORE: Poland earns gold in mixed 4x400m relay, USA snags bronze