A Throw on to the Podium and Historic 100 Meter Final in Paris

Shot By: Ben Stansall, AFP

Saturday, August 3. marked the second major day for track and field events in Paris. It also proved to be another excitement-filled day featuring finals of events from day one and the beginning of men’s sprinting events. A gold and silver sweep in shotput and a finish of a lifetime by the Netherlands in the 4x400 meter relay mixed.

The shot put final featured Ryan Crouser who had the chance to win the Olympic gold three times consecutively. The best throwers gathered to give it their final shot to take him off the podium.

Going into the final throws it was clear that it would be a fight for second. 

American Joe Kovacs was up to throw and the environment couldn’t be more against him. The throwing area was wet from rain; this was his final chance to get in a top-three position. A throw that needed to mark a distance that he had yet to hit all day. 

Kovacs stepped up to the plate delivering the results he needed, as he spinned before launching the ball 22.15 meters. The throw put him into second and right behind his fellow American crouser but there were still other athletes left. 

Shot By: Li Ming, Xinhua

One of those would be Rajindra Campbell of Jamaica who would have his part in this historic event. His throw flew through the air as he surpassed the 22-meter mark and took over the third position. No one else would surpass Campbell and the podium would be set.

Campbell had just won Jamaica their first shot put Olympic medal.

For the Americans Crouser and Kovacs, this duo had just gone one and two in the past three Olympics. More importantly for Crouser, he had just become the first man in history to win the event three Olympics in a row. 

Shot By: Steve Christo, Corbis

When it came to events on the track the drama didn’t die down. The women’s 100-meter final featured three Americans Sha’Carri Richardson, Twanisha Terry, and Melissa Jefferson.

The three looked to make a sweep for their nation by filling up the podium for Team USA. First, they needed to get through Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, who looked the most complete and came through as the fastest during the semifinal round. 

As the runners lined up into their blocks, the crowd fell silent and watched as the starter pistol got ready to fire off. At the sound of the gun, Alfred maintained the dominance she had been showing all day with a terrific start that made her the front-runner flying down the track.

In the lane next to her was Richardson who had a good start as well but was fighting her way back up to the front. Reaching top speed and closing the distance between her and first place she crossed the finish line in great fashion with the time reading 10.87 seconds. 

But the gold medal was still out of reach, Alfred had just set a new national record and won not only her first but the country’s first-ever medal in Olympic history. A time of 10.72 seconds for the women’s 100-meter champion and pure excitement as she continued jogging down the track holding her name up for the world to see. 

Richardson and Jefferson bring a great deal of joy to their country as well taking silver and bronze. Making it the first time in 28 years that the United States has had two women up on the podium in this event. Richardson still will be taking part in the 4x100-meter relay and has another chance to win gold.

Shot By: Petr David Josek, AP Photo

Another track final took place this afternoon with a 4x400 meter mixed relay. This event came with a little more attention as Team USA had just broken the world record in the event the day prior. 

The race went similarly to the opening round, with the American team maintaining a lead throughout the event. With there being no change to the lineup Kayla Brown took the final handoff ready to make her run. But attention went to another anchor leg, this one from the Netherlands, Femke Bol who had been subbed in to race this final. 

Bol did not disappoint and it proved to be a notable replacement for her national team. As she came down the final stretch hawking down the competition and making her way towards first place. It came down to the last 20 meters where Bol was able to overtake Brown and win the gold medal finally. 

Running a 47.9 second split Bol gives fans a sneak peek of what’s to come in the highly anticipated matchup between her and American Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone in the 400-meter hurdles.