Athletes compete in the men's 4x400m relay heats at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (© Getty Images)
How is it the penultimate day, already?! Saturday (7) includes the last six in-stadium athletics finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, plus the first of the two marathons. After this, there's only one event left - the men's marathon on Sunday.
Among those going for one of the seven gold medals on offer on Saturday will be Timothy Cheruiyot in the 1500m, Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump, Johannes Vetter in the javelin, Letesenbet Gidey in the 10,000m and Brigid Kosgei in the marathon.
Here are (more than) five things to follow on day nine…
Distance stars ready to shine
Women’s marathon and 10,000m finals
Marathon – 6:00am Tokyo time | 11:00pm CEST (on 6 August)
10,000m – 7:45pm Tokyo time | 12:45pm CEST
World record-holder Brigid Kosgei – who ran her 2:14:04 in 2019 – will start as the woman to beat, but she won’t be lacking formidable opposition when she races at her first major championship.
Her fellow Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, the two-time world half marathon champion and world record-holder, competes at her first Olympics after her 2:17:16 victory at the Valencia Marathon last December. They will be joined by their teammate Ruth Chepngetich, the world champion.
The Ethiopian team also has great strength in Roza Dereje (2:18:30 PB), Birhane Dibaba (2:18:35 PB) and Zeineba Yimer (2:19:28 PB).
Others on the medal hunt will be Israeli record-holder Lonah Salpeter, Namibia’s world bronze medallist Helalia Johannes and Japan’s Mao Ichiyama.
In the 10,000m later in the day, Dutch two-time world champion Sifan Hassan targets a second title and a third medal after her 5000m win and 1500m bronze in Tokyo. But it’s not going to be easy and it could take a world record to win.
Just two days after Hassan ran 29:06.82 to take more than 10 seconds off the world 10,000m record in Hengelo in June, Ethiopia’s world silver medallist Letesenbet Gidey improved the mark by a further five seconds with 29:01.03 on the same track. Before those performances, the world record had been 29:17.45 which was run by Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana five years earlier at the Rio Olympics.
Now the world’s all-time top two are preparing to go head-to-head. Unlike Hassan, Gidey – also the world 5000m record-holder – will be racing on fresh legs, having decided to only contest the 10,000m here.
Kenya’s team features the greatly experienced Hellen Obiri, while Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne clocked a national record of 29:50.77 earlier this year. Hitomi Niiya races for the host nation, while the field also features Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama and Tsehay Gemechu.
Vetter takes aim
Men’s javelin final
8:00pm Tokyo time | 1:00pm CEST
To say Johannes Vetter has dominated the javelin in recent seasons would be something of an understatement. Germany’s 2017 world champion even threatened the world record last year, throwing 97.76m in Silesia, and has thrown 96.29m during this consistent season.
India’s Commonwealth champion Neeraj Chopra was forced to miss the 2019 World Championships due to injury, but has returned to form this year, while Vetter’s German teammate Julian Weber has also been one of the more consistent throwers in 2021.
After throwing 85.16m in qualifying, Arshad Nadeem becomes the first athlete from Pakistan to make an Olympic final in athletics.
Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 champion Keshorn Walcott and Grenada’s world champion Anderson Peters will not be among those going for the medals after they missed out on making the final.
Lasitskene and Mahuchikh look to fly high
Women’s high jump final
7:35pm Tokyo time | 12:35pm CEST
Mariya Lasitskene has three world titles to her name and now she goes for her first Olympic gold. The authorised neutral athlete is tied for fifth on the world all-time list with a jump of 2.06m from 2017, but she is not the only athlete in the field to have reached those heights.
Challenging Lasitskene will be 19-year-old rising star Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine, who has gone from strength to strength since taking the silver medal in Doha behind Lasitskene. Mahuchikh recorded the best indoor jump in nine years in February, clearing 2.06m in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, and also claimed the European indoor and U23 titles this year.
The group of top contenders also includes US national champion and 2019 world bronze medallist Vashti Cunningham, Australia’s Oceania record-holder Nicola McDermott and Ukraine’s 2017 world silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko.
Cheruiyot goes for gold
Men’s 1500m final
8:40pm Tokyo time | 1:40pm CEST
In recent years, there's been no stopping 1500m sensation Timothy Cheruiyot, who'll start as the man to beat. The Kenyan was unbeaten over the distance in 10 races over two years until an off day at the Kenyan trials put an end to that win streak, but then he ran a 3:28.28 PB in Monaco to pad his hold on the No.7 spot on the all-time list and show team selectors why he deserved a place in Tokyo.
He may not have things all his own way, however. His compatriot Abel Kipsang ran an Olympic record of 3:31.65 in the semifinals, leading European champion and record-holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen who has put his full focus on this event rather than deciding to double up with the 5000m. Briton Jake Wightman had won his semifinal in 3:33.48 from US college star Cole Hocker and among those joining them all in the final will be Australian contenders Stewart McSweyn, the Oceania record-holder, and Ollie Hoare, plus Spain’s Ignacio Fontes and Adel Mechaal and Britain’s Josh Kerr.
The USA’s Rio Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz missed our after finishing ninth in his semifinal.
Bringing track action to a close
Women’s and men’s 4x400m finals
Women’s – 9:30pm Tokyo time | 2:30pm CEST
Men’s – 9:50pm Tokyo time | 2:50pm CEST
After the highest quality men's 4x400m heats in Olympic history, the final looks set to be a great battle. Friday was the first time that a sub-three-minute performance had been needed by all eight teams to simply qualify for the final and the teams racing for the title will be the USA, Botswana, Poland, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
In the women’s event, the USA will be looking to add another win to a record which has seen them claim gold at six straight Olympics over 25 years dating back to the 1996 Atlanta Games.
They comfortably qualified as quickest for the final, and their stiffest competition could come from the Jamaicans, who won silver behind the US at the past three Olympics. Behind those two teams in the second heat in Tokyo were Great Britain and Netherlands and they are joined in the final by Poland, Cuba, Canada and Belgium.
Should she be selected to run in the USA team, Allyson Felix will have the chance to win an 11th Olympic medal, extending her record as the most decorated woman in Olympic athletics history.
