Maria Perez in the marathon race walk mixed relay in Paris (© Mattia Ozbot)
The latest new athletics format on the Olympic programme, the marathon race walk mixed relay, produced victory for Spain’s world 20km race walk champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez on Wednesday (7).
On a course in the Trocadero area of Paris which looped underneath the Eiffel Tower, the Spanish pair produced a suitably spectacular finish to clock 2:50:31 and earn their second medals of the Games, following Perez's silver and Martin's bronze in the individual 20km race walk events six days ago.
They won by almost a minute from Ecuador, who clocked 2:51:22 as Brian Pintado added silver alongside Glenda Morejon to the gold he won in the men's 20km race walk. Australian duo Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag took bronze in 2:51:38.
Meanwhile in the Stade de France, after the high drama of Tuesday night’s men’s 1500m final, the deposed champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway had an early call for the heats of the men’s 5000m, the event at which he has won the last two world titles.
Having finished fourth in a tumultuous 1500m race in which he and the three men before him – Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse – all broke the Olympic record of 3:28.32 he had set at the Tokyo Games, the world must have appeared a challenging place this morning for the 23-year-old from Sandnes.
You wouldn’t have noticed, however. The Norwegian stuck out his chin and got back to business as usual, front-running victory in the second heat in 13:51.59 from Ethiopia’s Biniam Mehary in 13:51.82, Isaac Kimeli of Belgium in 13:52.18, and the United States’ 10,000m bronze medallist Grant Fisher, who clocked 13:52.44.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 5000m heats in Paris (© Dan Vernon)
The field lacked the Tokyo Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei, who won the 10,000m title on Saturday night but declared himself too tired to contest the shorter distance, as did his 23-year-old teammate Jacob Kiplimo, the Commonwealth 5000m and 10,000m champion and double world cross country gold medallist.
Perhaps Ingebrigtsen was energised by the result of the opening heat, where his compatriot and former training partner Narve Nordas was an exuberant winner in 14:08.16, finishing 0.02 ahead of Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, with Belgium’s John Heymans third in 14:08.33 and Jacob Krop of Kenya fourth in 14:08.73.
Britain’s George Mills hit the deck on the run-in, causing three others to fall. Mills, who had also fallen early on in his final race before the Games in the mile at the London Diamond League meeting, confronted France’s Hugo Hay afterwards, although it was not clear who bore responsibility for the turn of events.
Hay, whose season’s best of 13:45.37 was the slowest in the race by 18 seconds, earned the seventh of the eight qualifying places in 14:09.22, borne up by huge support. Mills was among four athletes advanced to the final by the referee.
Joint Olympic high jump champions Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim had a troubled but ultimately successful route to qualification to Saturday’s final.
Only three days ago the 32-year-old Italian, who missed the Rio 2016 Games after suffering a catastrophic ankle injury at his final warm-up meeting in Monaco, posted an image of himself in hospital after suffering from a fever and kidney problems.
He had already recovered from a thigh injury incurred a few weeks after effectively starting his already injury-delayed season by winning the European title in Rome with 2.37m.
As he said in an Instagram post put up shortly after his thigh problem emerged: “Nobody in history has ever fulfilled the dream of winning two golds (in the high jump) in this damn event and I swear that, despite this setback, I will continue to do everything I can to be the first to succeed.
“It won't be easy, I know. But objectively I ask myself: what has been easy in my career? I swear it doesn’t end here.”
For a while, despite the fact that he had defied circumstance to be taking part in the qualification, it looked as if it did end here as he had three failures at 2.27m. But his first-time clearances of 2.20m and 2.24m meant his record was good enough to earn equal sixth place, with only five men clearing 2.27m.
Among those was Barshim, although his first failure at the height saw him hopping in distress from the mat clutching his left calf. He was soon attended by medics, with his perennial friend and rival hovering anxiously by.
Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi in Paris (© Dan Vernon)
Thankfully the 33-year-old Qatari, who also has two Olympic silvers and three world golds in his collection, was able to resume and clear with his next attempt. Before he left the arena he spoke with his disconsolate buddy. But who knows what Tamberi the showman can do with an extra couple of days to recuperate?
The other four who progressed on 2.27m were world indoor silver medallist Shelby McEwen, world indoor champion Hamish Kerr, 2022 world silver medallist Woo Sanghyeok and Ryoichi Akamatsu.
Britain had better fortunes in the men’s 800m, where Max Burgin, Ben Pattison and Elliot Giles all qualified for Friday’s semifinals.
Kenya’s 20-year-old world silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi was fastest through in 1:44.64, with Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, who tops this year’s world list on 1:41.46 – set as he beat Wanyonyi by 0.12 in Monaco – also progressing in 1:45.84, and home hope Gabriel Tual, the European champion, winning his heat in 1:45.13.
Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk topped qualification for Saturday’s women’s javelin final with 65.52m, with Rio 2016 champion Sara Kolak second best on 64.57m and Flor Hurtado, the world silver medallist, third on 64.40. Haruka Kitaguchi, who beat her to gold in Budapest, progressed with 62.58m.
But Austria’s European champion Victoria Hudson failed to progress with 59.69m.
Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico topped qualifying in the women’s 100m hurdles heats on 12.42, with world record-holder and 2022 world champion Tobi Amusan second on 12.49 and Masai Russell third on 12.53.
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn in 100m hurdles action in Paris (© Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
France’s medal hope, European champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela, was fifth fastest through to Saturday’s final.
The women’s 1500m repechage saw progression for Birke Haylom of Ethiopia, Ludovica Cavalli of Italy, Esther Guerrero and Agueda Marques of Spain, Sintayehu Vissa of Italy and Britain’s Revee Walcott-Nolan.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics
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