Record-breaking US 4x400m quartets bring Paris 2024 Olympics track and field programme to a thrilling finale

A stupendous finale to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games track and field programme at a packed Stade de France on Saturday (10 August) saw history made as Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won a third women’s 1500m title, while the United States won both 4x400m titles, setting an Olympic record of 2:54.43 in the men’s event and a North American record of 2:15.27 in the women’s.

New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr defeated Shelby McEwen of the United States in the first jump-off in a men’s Olympic high jump final, while Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen responded to an earlier defeat – the loss of his 1500m title – with victory as he proved imperious in the distance at which he has won the last two world titles, the 5000m.

Kenya’s 20-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi, inspired by compatriot and world record-holder David Rudisha, became the youngest winner of the men’s 800m in Olympic history as he reversed his defeat by Marco Arop in last year’s world final to take gold ahead of his Canadian rival in a personal best of 1:41.19.

Home athlete Cyrena Sambela-Mayela earned France’s first track and field medal of the Paris 2024 programme on the final day in finishing second to Masai Russell of the United States in the 100m hurdles, while Japan’s world javelin champion Haruka Kitaguchi added Olympic gold to her collection.

The USA’s 4x400m victories consolidated their position at the top of the track and field medals table with a total of 34, including 14 golds. Kenya was a distant second with a total of 10 including four golds, ahead of Canada, with a total five and three golds, while Spain and Norway, with two golds each, were respectively fourth and fifth.

Kipyegon, with something to prove after being beaten to the 5000m gold by fellow Kenyan Beatrice Chebet, embraced history by becoming the first woman to win three Olympic titles in a single track discipline – in her case, the 1500m, at which she set the world record of 3:49.04 in this same city on 7 July.

The 30-year-old ran a perfectly controlled race, taking over the lead at the bell after Ethiopia’s early leader Gudaf Tsegay had dropped away, and finishing comfortably clear in an Olympic record of 3:51.29, breaking the mark of 3:53.11 she set in Tokyo three years ago.

Australia’s Jessica Hull took silver in 3:52.56 while Britain’s Georgia Bell set a national record of 3:52.61 for bronze.

The concluding men’s event, the 4x400m, ended with the stirring sight of two Olympic champions –400m hurdler Rai Benjamin and Botswana’s 200m winner Letsile Tebogo – duking it out over the final leg.

Benjamin, more accustomed to this distance, kept the lead, crossing in an Olympic record of 2:54.43 after running an anchor leg split of 43.18. For the man who had never won a global title, Paris is golden.

Tebogo gave his all as he clocked 43.08 to bring Botswana silver in an African record of 2:54.53, with bronze going to Britain, for whom individual silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith ran the second leg, in a European record of 2:55.83.

The men’s high jump final provided the spectacle that did not take place at the Tokyo Games, where Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar shared gold. After finishing with identical records after clearing 2.36m – Kerr equalling his own Oceanian record – but failing at 2.38m, Kerr and McEwen set off on the retrograde route to gold, starting first with single, extra attempts at 2.38m.

After each failed, they moved to 2.36m, where again neither was able to add another clearance. So to 2.34m where, after McEwen had failed, Kerr cleared before setting off on a faintly delirious, arms-raised gallop on to the javelin quadrant.

While Tamberi, who had struggled with injury and a recent kidney problem requiring hospitalisation, could not progress beyond his opening height of 2.22m, Barshim added a bronze to the gold and two silvers he has already collected at the Olympics after clearing all the way to 2.34m with first-time efforts.

Since he won his Olympic 1500m title in 2021, global championships have followed a pattern for Ingebrigtsen as he has lost over that distance but earned 5000m gold.

Four days after the trauma of finishing fourth in the 1500m, the Norwegian was seeking a similar golden consolation.

And lo, it came to pass, as he came home victorious after finishing 10 metres clear in 13:13.66 after eviscerating all competition over the final lap.

Ronald Kwemoi of Kenya did the best job of trying to match him, taking silver in 13:15.04 ahead of the fast-finishing Grant Fisher of the United States, already a 10,000m bronze medallist, who added another medal to his collection in 13:15.13 ahead of Dominic Lobalu, who clocked 13:15.27.

In the men’s 800m final it was the first time that four men had broken 1:42 and that seven men had broken 1:43.

As the field entered the final straight, the home supporters in the sell-out crowd were roaring for their man Gabriel Tual, the European champion, who was on Wanyonyi’s shoulder. But the French challenger slipped back to sixth as the tall figure of Arop moved up to try to repeat the performance of the previous summer.

This time Wanyonyi – a year older, a year stronger – resisted him, with Arop lowering his North American record to 1:41.20.

Djamel Sedjati of Algeria, who arrived at these Games topping the world list with the 1:41.46 he ran in Monaco last month, moved through to take bronze in 1:41.50 ahead of Bryce Hoppel’s US record of 1:41.67.

Russell of the United States was an irresistible force in the women’s 100m hurdles, winning in 12.33.

But Samba-Mayela, whose preparations had been undermined by Covid, rose to the challenge as she earned silver in 12.34, shedding tears as the result came through. Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn powered through for bronze in 12.36.

In the women’s javelin final Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi produced a winning throw of 65.80m in the opening round.

South Africa’s Jo-Ane Van Dyk got closest to her, taking silver with a third-round effort of 63.93m, as bronze went to Czechia’s Nikola Ogrodnikova, whose best of 63.38m was 28cm better than that achieved by Croatia’s Rio 2016 winner Sara Kolak.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s split in the concluding women’s 4x400m relay was an unearthly 47.71. Her Dutch rival Femke Bol, so downcast at winning bronze in the 400m hurdles final, ended her Games on a higher note as, having anchored the Netherlands to mixed 4x400m gold the previous weekend, she produced another late surge to take them from fourth to second in a national record of 3:19.50.

Britain, anchored by Amber Anning, took bronze in a national record of 3:19.72 from Ireland, who also had a national record of 3:19.90.

Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

For all the latest results, statistics and coverage during the Paris 2024 Olympics, join Inside Track today for free.