The United States continued their dominance in track and field at the Paris Games, winning the women’s 4×400-metre relay and men’s 4×400-metre relay events. The women’s team, featuring star athletes Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas, clinched the gold medal with a time of 3:15.27. The men’s team, led by individual gold medallists Rai Benjamin and Quincy Hall, set an Olympic record with a time of 2:54.43, narrowly beating out Botswana for the gold.
In the field events, New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr won a dramatic jump-off in the men’s high jump final to claim gold, while Mutaz Barshim of Qatar settled for bronze. Kerr’s victory marked a rare athletics gold for his country. Barshim, who had shared Olympic gold in Tokyo, expressed his satisfaction with his four medals but stated that he would not compete in the 2028 Olympics.
American Masai Russell also made headlines by winning the women’s 100-metre hurdles title in a closely contested race, edging out home favourite Cyréna Samba-Mayela and Tokyo champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Russell’s time of 12.33 seconds secured the gold, with Samba-Mayela taking silver and Camacho-Quinn claiming bronze.
Overall, the United States solidified their status as a track and field powerhouse at the Paris Games, adding to their already impressive medal tally and showcasing the talent and depth of their athletes across various events.
Source
Photo credit www.aljazeera.com
