PARIS, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) — Julien Alfred scored St Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal with gold in the women’s 100m, while the Netherlands took victory in the mixed 4x400m on a rainy Saturday evening full of surprises in the Paris 2024 athletics competitions.
Heading into the women’s 100m, much discussion had centered on a high-profile showdown between the United States’ Sha’carri Richardson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica.
However, Fraser-Pryce withdrew from the event just before the semifinals, ruining her chance of becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to win five consecutive medals in the same event.
Fraser-Pryce’s withdrawal meant Richardson was the favorite going into the final, but the American was beaten out of the blocks by Alfred, who led from start to finish with a national record time of 10.72s.
Richardson had to settle for silver in 10.87s, with her compatriot Melissa Jefferson taking the bronze medal with a time of 10.92s.
In the 4x400m mixed relay, the Netherlands scored a major shock by taking gold ahead of the U.S., who had been expected to win after having set a new world record of 3:07.41 in Friday’s semifinal, and the Americans asserted their authority by leading after the second and third laps.
However, as the rain lashed down in the Stade de France, the U.S. reckoned without a supreme effort from Dutch anchor Femke Bol, who ran 47.93s – just 0.33s shy of the women’s 400m world record – to overhaul U.S. anchor Kaylyn Brown in the final 50 meters to secure the Netherlands’ win in a European record time of 3:07.43s.
Behind the second-placed U.S. team, Britain took the bronze medal.
In the women’s triple jump, another Caribbean nation scored its first ever Olympic medal, with Thea Lafond jumping a national record of 15.02m to win gold for Dominica.
Shaneika Ricketts took silver for Jamaica, with bronze going to the U.S.’s Jasmine Moore. Tokyo 2020 gold medalist and current world record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela did not compete after having torn her Achilles tendon earlier in 2024.
The men’s shot put was dominated by world record holder Ryan Crouser of the U.S., who led the field from his first throw, and ultimately sealed his third Olympic gold in succession with a season’s best of 22.90m.
Despite the rainy conditions, which made the throwing circle increasingly treacherous, Crouser’s compatriot Joe Kovacs did well to improve to 22.15m on his final throw, ultimately sealing the silver medal ahead of Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell in third place.
In the men’s decathlon, Markus Rooth took the gold medal with 8,796 points. The Norwegian had not come top in any of the event’s ten disciplines, but was consistent enough throughout to take the overall win, 48 points ahead of Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, with Lindon Victor of Grenada third on 8,711 points.
Sunday’s athletics action will see gold medals awarded in women’s high jump, men’s hammer throw and men’s 100m.
